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73  WEST  fr^MlN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  14580 

(716)872-4503 


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CIHM/ICMH 

Microfiche 

Series. 


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CIHM/ICMH 
Collection  de 
microfiches. 


Canadian  Institute  for  Historical  Microreproductions  /  Institut  Canadian  de  microreproductions  historiques 


Technical  and  Bibliographic  Notes/Notes  techniques  et  bibliographiques 


The  Institute  has  attempted  to  obtain  the  best 
original  copy  available  for  filming.  Features  of  this 
copy  which  may  be  bibliographically  unique, 
which  may  alter  any  of  the  images  in  the  @ 

reproduction,  or  which  may  significantly  change 
the  usual  method  of  filming,  are  checked  below. 


□    Coloured  covers/ 
Couverture  de  couleur 

□    Covers  damaged/ 
Couverture  endommagde 

□    Covers  restored  and/or  laminated/ 
Couverture  restaur6e  et/ou  pelliculde 

□    Cover  title  missing/ 
Le  titre  de  couverture  manque 

□    Coloured  maps/ 
Cartes  giographiques  en  couleur 

□    Coloured  ink  (i.e.  other  than  blue  or  black)/ 
Encre  de  couleur  (i.e.  autre  que  bleue  ou  noire) 

□    Coloured  plates  and/or  illustrations/ 
Planches  et/ou  illustrations  en  couleur 


D 


Bound  with  other  material/ 
Reli6  avec  d'autres  document!^ 

Tight  binding  may  cause  shadows  or  distortion 
along  interior  margin/ 

La  reliure  serr^e  peut  causer  de  I'ombre  ou  de  la 
distortion  le  long  de  la  marge  intirieuro 

Blank  leaves  added  during  restoration  may 
appear  within  the  text.  Whenever  possible,  these 
have  been  omitted  from  filming/ 
II  se  peut  que  certaines  pages  blanches  ajout6es 
lors  d'une  restauration  apparaissent  dans  le  texte, 
mais,  lorsque  cela  6tait  possible,  ces  pages  n'ont 
pas  6t6  filmies. 


L'Institut  a  microfilm^  le  meilleur  exemplaire 
qu'il  lui  a  6X6  possible  de  se  procurer.  Les  details 
de  cet  exemplaire  qui  sont  peut-dtra  uniques  du 
point  de  vue  bibliographique,  qui  peuvent  modifier 
une  image  reproduite,  ou  qui  peuvent  exiger  une 
modification  dans  la  mdthode  normale  de  filmage 
sont  indiquds  ci-dessous. 


I      I   Coloured  pages/ 


Pages  de  couleur 

Pages  damaged/ 
Pages  endommagdes 

Pages  restored  and/o 

Pages  restaurdes  et/ou  pellicui6es 

Pages  discoloured,  stained  or  foxe< 
Pages  d6color6es,  tachet^es  ou  piqu6es 


I — I    Pages  damaged/ 

I — I    Pages  restored  and/or  laminated/ 

r~pir  Pages  discoloured,  stained  or  foxed/ 


□Pages  detached/ 
Pages  d6tach6es 

I     ^Showthrough/ 
I  lr\   Transparence 

I      I    Quality  of  print  varies/ 


Quality  in^gale  de  I'impression 

Includes  supplementary  material/ 
Comprend  du  materiel  supplementaire 


D 
D 


Only  edition  available/ 
Seule  Edition  dispor.ihle 

Pages  wholly  or  partially  obscured  by  errata 
slips,  tissues,  etc.,  have  been  refilmed  to 
ensure  the  best  possible  image/ 
Les  pages  totalement  ou  partiellement 
obscurcies  par  un  feuillet  d'errata,  une  pelure, 
etc.,  ont  6t6  filmdes  d  nouveau  de  fapon  A 
obtenir  la  meilleure  image  possible. 


D 


Additional  comments:/ 
Commentaires  suppldmentaires: 


Pages  313  -315  are  misting. 


This  item  is  filmed  at  the  reduction  ratio  checked  below/ 

Ce  document  est  filmd  au  taux  de  reduction  indiqui  ci-dessous 

10X                            14X                             18X                            22X 

26X 

30X 

J 

i 

12X 

16X 

20X 

24X 

28X 

32X 

ails 

du 

difier 

jne 

lage 


Th«  copy  filmMl  h«r«  hm  b««n  r«produc«d  thank* 
to  tho  gonoroalty  o  : 

Library  Division 

Provincial  Archival  of  British  Columbia 

Tho  imagot  appaaring  hara  ara  tha  baat  quality 
poaaibia  conaidaring  tha  condition  and  iaglbility 
of  tha  original  copy  and  in  kaaping  with  tha 
filming  contract  apacifications. 


L'axampiaira  film*  fut  raproduit  grica  i  la 
gAnAroaitA  da: 

Library  Division 

Provincial  Archives  of  British  Columbia 

Laa  imagaa  auivantaa  ont  M4  raprodultaa  avac  la 
plua  grand  aoin,  compta  tanu  da  la  condition  at 
da  la  nattatA  da  l'axampiaira  film*,  at  •$% 
conformiti  avac  Im  conditions  du  contrat  da 
filmaga. 


Original  copiaa  in  printad  papar  covars  ara  filmad 
baginning  with  tha  front  covar  and  anding  on 
tha  laat  paga  with  a  printad  or  illustratad  impraa- 
sion.  or  tha  back  covar  whan  appropriata.  All 
othar  original  copiaa  ara  filmad  b  iginning  on  tha 
firat  paga  with  a  printad  or  illustratad  impras- 
sion.  and  anding  on  tha  last  paga  with  a  printad 
or  illustratad  Imprassion. 


Tha  last  racordad  frame  on  aach  mtcroflcha 
shall  contain  tha  symbol  >-i»'  (meaning  "CON- 
TINUED"), or  tha  symbol  y  (meaning  "END"), 
whichever  applies. 


Lea  exemplairaa  originaux  dont  la  couvarture  en 
papier  eat  imprimia  sont  filmte  en  commen9ant 
par  la  premier  plat  at  en  terminant  aoit  par  la 
darniire  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'iilustration,  soit  par  la  second 
plat,  salon  la  cas.  Tous  lee  autres  exemplairas 
originaux  sont  filmis  en  commen^ant  par  la 
pramiAre  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'iilustration  at  en  terminant  par 
la  darniire  page  qui  comporte  une  telle 
empreinte. 

Un  des  symboles  suivants  apparaitra  sur  la 
darniire  image  do  cheque  microfiche,  selon  le 
cas:  le  symbole  -^  signifie  "A  SUIVRE  ",  le 
symbols  ▼  signifie  "FIN". 


Maps,  plates,  charts,  etc.,  may  be  filmed  at 
different  reduction  ratios.  Those  too  large  to  be 
entirely  included  in  one  exposure  are  filmed 
beginning  in  the  upper  left  hand  corner,  left  to 
right  and  top  to  bottom,  as  many  frames  as 
required.  The  following  diagrams  illustrate  the 
method: 


Les  cartes,  planches,  tableaux,  etc.,  peuvent  Atre 
filmte  A  des  taux  de  reduction  diffArents. 
Lorsque  le  document  est  trop  grand  pour  Atre 
reproduit  en  un  seul  ciichi,  il  est  film*  A  partir 
de  I'angle  supArieur  gauche,  de  gauche  k  droite. 
et  de  haut  en  bas,  an  prenant  le  nombre 
d'images  nAcessaire.  i.as  diagrammes  suivants 
iiiustrant  la  mAthode. 


rrata 
:o 


pelure. 


D 


32X 


1 

2 

3 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

SKETCHES, 


BY    A    TRAVELLER. 


% 


i^>4,v    ^    .*/■/!•>' £K-*-tr<: 


1 


J 


■  V  •      1  T ;  i<  i 


*'  His  eyo  muRt  boc,  ]iia  foot  eacii  spot  roust  troad 
Where  sloepii  the  dust  uf  earth's  recorded  dead, 
Wliero  rise  the  nionumcnts  of  ancient  time. 
Pillar  and  pyramid,  in  ago  Huhlime, 
The  pagan' ' '  '""ile  and  the  Christian's  tower. 
War's  bloo  in  and  wisdom's  srcenest  bo^r ; 

All  that  his  >.v  waked  in  school-boy  themM, 

All  that  his  fancy  fired,  in  youthful  diearos." 


BOSTON, 

PURIJSHRD    BY    CARTER    ANT)    IIENDEF!. 


.>■ 


V  »# 


nil  iifiltBitl* 


I 


DISTRICT  OF   MASSACHUIETTI,  TO  WIT  ; 


Be    it  roinombored,  that  on  the 


Diatriet  ClerVa  Office. 
eleventh  day  of  January^  A.  D.  1830,  in 


the  fiflyfourth  year  of  the  Independence  of  the  United  Statei  of  America,  Carter 
and  Hondeo,  of  the  said  district,  have  deposited  in  this  office  the  title  of  &  book, 
the  right^whereof  they  claim  as  proprietors  in  the  words  following,  to  wit : 

'  Sketches,  by  a  Traveller.  , 

"  His  eye  must  sec,  his  foot  each  spot  must  tread 
Wlieie  sleeps  the  dust  of  earth's  recorded  dead, 
Where  rise  the  monuments  of  ancient  time, 
,  ?illar  and  pyramid,  in  age  sublime. 

The  pagan's  temple  and  the  Christian's  tower. 

War's  bloodiest  plain  and  wisdom's  greenest  bower  ;  ■ 

All  that  his  wonder  waked  in  school-boy  themes,  ^ 

All  that  his  fancy  fired,  in  youthful  dreams."  > 

In  conformity  to  the  act  of  the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  entitled,  'An 
act  for  the  encouragement  of  learning,  by  securing  the  copies  of  maps,  charts, 
and  l>ook8,  to  the  authors  and  pi'  .prietors  of  such  copies,  during  the  times  therein 
mentioned ; '  and  also  to  an  act.,  entitled  *  An  act  supplementary  to  an  act,  enti< 
tied  '*  An  act  for  the  encouragement  of  learning,  by  securing  the  copies  of  map*, 
charts,  and  books,  to  the  authors  and  proprietors  of  such  copies  during  the 
times  therein  mentioned  i "  and  extendms  the  benefits  thereof  to  the  arts  of 
designing,  engraving,  and  etching  historical  and  other  prints.' 

J  WO.  \Vm  DAVIS, 
Clerk  of  the  District  of  Massaehutettt, 


pers 

Gah 

evei 

reqi 

part 

ble 

clair 

The 

with 

were 


•f.' 


^pt.  5»Ap-D. 


PREFACE. 


The  following  Letters,  etc.  were  written  by  the  same 
person,  and  originally  appeared  in  the  New  England 
Galaxy,  and  Boston  Courier ;  sorne  amendments,  how- 
ever, have  been  made,  and  many,  it  may  be,  are 
required.  But  as  the  writer  was  indebted  for  some 
parts,  to  the  journal  of  a  friend,  he  cannot  be  responsi- 
ble for  any  errors  but  his  own ;  and  therefore  he  cannot 
claim  for  all  his  sketches  the  authority  of  a  guide-book. 
The  articles  were  written  merely  for  a  newspaper, 
without  thought  of  other  publication — would  tliat  they 
were  better. 


f~^  ,.> ,..  /. 


Pacific  N.W.Hlntcrv' 

PROVIN'    1  Aw-  LJBRA.  .  ; 


■ih 


27490 


I  t«ii'iriMiA(ifii  J  '  II I  «iViiiil;ii|l)lijfflf'#"i' 


i 


s. 


' 


LETTERS  FROM  A  MARINER. 


NO.  I. 

.    *  .  * 

Sir — In  complying  with  your  request,  I  shall  need 
all  your  indulgence.  The  duty  of  a  sailor  is  too  hard, 
and  his  deficiency  in  general  knowledge  too  great,  to 
enable  him  to  describe  well,  even  his  own  wanderings. 

My  journal  is  but  a  log-book,  filled  with  the  courses 
of  the  w^inds  and  the  aspect  of  the  skies.  It  was  com- 
menced in  my  sixteenth  year,  when,  impelled  by  a  thirst 
for  adventure  which  amounted  to  a  passion,  I  shipped 
myself  as  a  green  hand,  for  a  long  voyage. 

On  the  22d  day  of  April,  we  sailed  from  Boston  in 
a  good  ship,  bound  for  the  Northwest  coast  of  America. 
On  the  first  day  of  May,  a  sail  was  discovered  bearing 
down  upon  us  from  the  v/estern  quarter,  and  in  three 
hours  she  passed  under  our  stern,  hailing  under  English 
colors,  as  from  New  Providence.  She  was  well  armed 
and  manned,  yet,  making  ourselves  a  warlike  show,  we 
feigned  courage,  and  parted  company  with  a  decided 
dislike  to  her  countenance. 

The  first  land  made  was  the  island  of  St  Anthony, 
one  of  the  Capes  de  Verde.     Here  we  took  the  N.  E. 


3 


LETTERS   FROM   A    MARINER. 


'V 


Trades,  and  were  accompanied  for  ten  days  by  shoals 
of  albicore,  dolphin,  and  honito.  Our  next  land  was 
the  little  island  Trinidad,  uninhabited  and  l)arren. 

In  the  parallel  of  IJuciios  Ayros,  wo  had  one  of  the 
gales  that  in  winter  are  so  violent  in  these  latitudes  ; 
and  though  our  ship  was  stronj;,  it  seemed  as  if  the  arm 
of  Providence  must  interpose  to  save  us.  A  heavy  sea 
swept  our  neat  whale  boat  from  the  larboard  quarter, 
stove  in  the  binnacle,  and  carried  away  the  goat  house 
with  its  unlucky  tenant.  Our  fears  were  great,  but 
they  could  not  extinguish  our  sympathies  for  poor  Cap- 
ricornus,  who  was  a  favorite  with  us  all.  We  saw  her 
heading  towards  the  ship  and  stru<fgling  hard  to  regain 
it,  when  a  sea  broke  over,  and  fcihe  was  seen  no  more. 

Between  the  latitudes  fiftyseven  and  sixty  south,  in  win- 
ter, when  there  is  scarcely  six  hours'  sun,  the  weather  is 
bad  at  the  best;  and  we  had  storms  of  t^lect  and  snow, our 
ship  was  buried  in  the  water,  and  in  these  long  and  dis- 
mal nights  our  births  were  seldom  dry.  Yet  no  one 
was  sick,  though  all  were  much  exhausted.  Wo  were 
deliberating  on  a  return  to  port  to  recruit  ourselves 
and  refit  the  ship,  when  a  gale  assisted  our  councils, 
and  carried  us,  though  in  a  rough  way,  so  much  west, 
that  we  could  steer  north  in  the  Pacific  Ocean  with 
good  offing  from  the  coast. 

Being  in  want  of  wood  and  water,  we  steered  to 
Massa  Fuero  for  supplies.  The  boats  were  sent  on 
shore  and  returned  with  a  report  that  there  was  much 
drift  wood,  but  too  high  a  surf  to  land  at  the  watering 
place.  A  great  many  fish  were  taken  with  the  line,  and 
a  goat  was  killed  with  a  harpoon,  which,  with  a  few 
greens,  gave  us  a  princely  repast.  We  lay  three  days 
for  the  surf  to  subside;  but  we  waited  in  vain.  This 
was  an  unwelcome  state  of  things,  for  we  had  few  anti- 
scorbutics;  and  we  feared  that  the  scurvy  would  board 


LETTERS    FROM    A    MARINER. 


US  this  side  the  Snndwich  Islands  ;  yet  the  disease  is 
delayed  by  a  free  use  of  water. 

The  island  of  JMusia  Fueio  is  distant  from  Chili  one 
hundred  and  twenty  Jeoifnos;  and  from  Jiian  Fernandez, 
twentyfive.  It  is  lofty,  and  may  he  seen  twenty  leagues. 
On  the  hills  there  is  a  little  stunted  wood,  and  the  val- 
lies  are  covered  with  tall  spear  grass.  Tliere  are  some 
fertile  spots  planted  with  vegetables,  by  people  who 
came  to  hunt  the  seal ;  but  the  poor  fur  seal  has  become 
almost  extinct  since  it  niade  the  acquaintance  of  man. 
Goats  there  are  in  large  (locks,  and  tame  enough  to  bo 
killed  with  muskets.  VV^e  saw,  too,  a  few  cats,  some 
of  them  so  gentle  that  they  came  up  to  us.  The  wa- 
ters around  the  island  abound  in  fish,  that  take  the 
naked  hook  with  an  avidity  that  would  have  astonished 
Tzaac  Walton.  We  left  this  island,  which  the  captain 
called  the  Paradise  of  the  Goats,  to  its  own  solitude, 
and  on  the  26th  November,  beheld  the  blue  summit  of 
Owyhee  peeping  over  tho  clouds. 

The  sight  of  land  diflused  a  general  joy,  that  was 
heightened  when  we  discovered  the  rich  cultivation  of 
the  eastern  slope ;  we  saw  fields  of  tarro,  sugar  cane, 
sweet  potatoes,  and  watermelons.  In  the  evening  we 
hauled  off  for  Toeigli  Bay,  and  lay  under  short  sail 
during  the  night.  A  friend  of  the  king  came  on  board 
with  supplies  of  hogs  and  vegetables,  when  we  sailed 
for  Woahoo,  the  only  harbor  where  a  ship  can  be  safe- 
ly overhauled,  and  the  residence  of  the  Lord  of  the 
Isles. 

The  Sandwich  Islands  are  so  well  known,  that  you 
will  not  thank  me  for  extracts  concerning  them,  and  1 
am  impatient  to  take  you  to  the  Northwest  Coast,  which 
is  less  travelled  ground,  and  more  like  what  is  called  in 
charts,  ten'a  incognila. 


LETTERS    FROM    A    MARINER. 


1 


But  that  I  mny  say  all  that  I  would  of  any  of  the 
Pacific  Islands,  I  will  in  this  letter  extract  from  my 
journals  of  several  voyages;  without  having  before  my 
eyes  the  fear  of  anachronism,  which  is  a  hard  word, 
Hignifying,  os  I  always  believed,  the  confusion  of  dates. 

At  Woahoo,  wo  were  visited  early  by  a  person  who 
seemed  to  be  of  distinction,  and  he  had  written  testimo- 
nials of  character,  from  various  mariners;  though  in  a 
country  where  forgery  is  easy,  such  documents  would 
raise  more  suspicion  than  confidence. 

We  produced  n  bottle  of  old  stingo  and  a  tumbler  of 
the  capacity  of  a  pint.  To  his  comrades  he  served  a 
moderate  allowance,  but  inclined  more  '  liberal  princi- 
ples when  he  poured  out  for  himself.  His  potation  was 
any  thing  but  thin,  yet  it  was  swallowed  in  a  moment  of 
time,  and  followed  by  a  smack  of  the  lips,  and  the  ejac- 
ulation of  the  English  word  *  strong.'  Ho  then  took 
to  his  canoe  and  paddled  off  with  the  strength  and 
somewhat  after  the  manner  of  an  alligator. 

We  had  next  to  do  the  honors  to  Reo  Reo,  the  sove- 
reign. We  saluted  him  with  seven  guns,  for  majesty  is 
venerable  even  to  a  republican,  though  like  Brutus,  he 
dislike  in  his  own  country,  the  very  name  of  a  king.  " 
Reo  Reo  was  by  no  means  a  fool,  though  if  a  good 
life  be  the  fruit  of  wisdom,  he  cannot  be  ranked  with 
the  wise.  His  besetting  vice  was  that  of  a  savage, 
perhaps  of  a  monarch,  intemperance.  He  had  some 
correct  notions  of  ^rade,  for  he  glanced  at  goods  that 
we  knew  he  coveted  in  his  heart,  with  an  affectation  of 
utter  indiflerence,  which  manoeuvre  we  met  by  a  cor- 
responding expression  of  sang  froid.  It  was  a  trial  of 
cunning,  but  the  savage  was  vanquished.  However, 
whde  somewhat  in  our  debt  he  slipped  away  in  a  whale 
ship  to  visit  his  Royal  Brother  in  the  British  Islands, 
where  he  died;  and  I  fear  without  imitating  Theodore 


LETTERS   FROM    K    MARINER.  9 

of  Cornica,  who,  whilo  in  prison  at  London,  made  over 
his  kingdom  for  tho  uhc  of  his  credilors. 

William  Pitt,  who  was  regent  in  tho  king's  absence, 
was  a  man  of  much  shrewdness,  and  some  honesty. 
Boki  has  less  of  either;  I  dare  not  call  him  thief,  but 
I  believe  that  he  would  partake  of  what  he  knew  to  be 
stolen.  In  fact,  the  first  law  of  nature,  with  these 
people,  seems  to  be  to  acquire,  And  thefl  is  adopted 
readily,  as  the  means.  Yet  they  have  certainly  im- 
proved in  their  moral  qualities  since  tho  residence  of 
the  missionaries. 

I  was  little  on  shore,  though  once  I  dined  with  a 
chief,  on  what  he  called  a  roasted  pig;  yot  it  the  animal 
had  recovered  voice  it  would  have  bccn  not  to  ?qncak 
but  tc   /ark. 

I  like  the  Sandwich  people  less  than  the  Otaheitans, 
who  are,  or  to  me  they  seemed,  more  affable  and  kind. 
A  Frenchman,  as  he  names  the  Persians,  the  Parisians 
of  the  East,  might  call  the  Otaheitans  the  French  of 
the  South  Sea. 

But  the  people  of  the  Marquesas  are  the  most  beau- 
tiful of  all  savages.  They  are  quite  too  handsome  for 
my  preconceptions  of  a  cannibal.  They  have  a  Gre- 
cian precision  of  outlnie,  but  lack  the  beauty  of  senti- 
ment; and  you  would  look  in  vain  for  an  intellectual 
face.  I  remember  that  a  whale's  tooth  suspended  from 
the  neck,  is  a  title  to  distinction,  and  that  ho  who  has 
the  largest  tooth  has  the  most  honor,  and  feels  the 
greatest  pride.  This  is  all  that  I  can  tell  you  of  the 
Marquesas. 


1* 


n^^  ■ 


**■ 


6 


LETTERS   FROM    A    MARINER. 


JsO.  II. 


I 


Sir — I  was  once  (1017)  bound  from  the  islands  last 
mentioned  to  Coquinibo,  when  we  hove  to  under  the 
southeast  side  of  Pitcairn's  Island,  the  retreat  of  the 
mutineers  ol'the  Bounty.  VVediscovered  avillage  under  a 
noble  grove  of  banyaa  and  palm;  and  the  inhabitants  were 
seen  hastening  down  the  declivity  by  a  circuitous  path* 
to  the  beacli.  I  was  one  of  five  who  went  in  a  boat  near 
to  the  shore,  where  the  islanders  stood  on  a  projecting 
rock,  making  courteous  signs  for  us  to  approach.  But 
the  surf  was  too  high,  and  several  of  their  young  men 
swam  oft'.  I'hey  gave  us  from  the  water  the  English 
salutation,  '  How  do  you  do  ? '  and  one  of  them  said  in  a 
very  pleasing  manner  '  I  will  come  into  your  boat,  Sir, 
if  you  will  permit,'  but  not  one  of  the  whole  attempted 
to  get  in  till  he  hud  obtained  permission.  Ten  came  in, 
and  as  soon  as  seated,  asked  with  the  utmost  eagerness 
our  nation,  and  reason  lor  coming  to  their  island.  The 
cause  of  our  coming  wc  stated  to  be,  partly  to  obtain 
provisions,  but  inincij)ally  to  see  with  our  own  eyes  the 
innocence  and  happiness  of  their  little  society. 

All  were  desirous  to  go  on  board,  but  as  the  sea  was 
high,  and,the  w  eatber  in  their  own  phrase  '  looked  naugh- 
ty,' I  limited  their  number  to  three.  They  decided  by 
lot  who  should  go,  and  the  unsuccessful  swam  off  under 
the  promise  of  being  permitted  in  their  turn  to  visit  the 
ship.  It  was  dark  when  we  dropped  anchor,  and  we  dis- 
covered immediately  after,  a  single  man  in  a  canoe  that 
could  hold  but  one,  and  which,  though  little  better  than 
a  cockle  shell,  he  managed  dexterously.  He  came  un- 
der our  lee  quarter,  and  called  in  a  bold  manner  for  a 
rope,  by  wliich  we  hauled  him  and  his  canoe  on  deck  to- 
gether, lie  was  not  encumbered  with  dress,  wearing 
nothing  but  a  free  mason's  apron  without  the  emblems. 


r 


LETTERS   FROM   A    MARINER. 


In  tlie  morning  a  galo  drove  us  off*  many  leagues.  Yet 
although  the  sea  was  high,  our  visitors  showed  no  symp- 
toms of  alarm  ;  but  all  were  uneasy  fur  the  pain  their 
situation,  or  ignorance  of  it,  would  give  their  friends  on 
shore.  Their  agreeable  manners  and  amiablo  disposi- 
tions made  them  favorites  with  us  all  :  and  if  ever  there 
was  a  golden  age  it  must  have  produced  people  like 
these.  I  have  never  seen  in  others  such  natural  ease  of 
deportment  or  unhesitating  boldness  in  speaking  their 
sentiments. 

*  Mr  Adams '  seemed  to  be  held  by  all  in  great  ven- 
eration. Since  their  infancy,  the  good  man  has  been 
anxiously  engaged  in  turning  their  minds  to  good,  or,  in 
their  own  words,  he  has  '  learnt  them  to  love  all  good 
things  ar^  to  hate  everything  that  is  naugldy. '  This 
last  is  a  phrase  in  high  fuvor  with  this  Solon  of  the  sea, 
and  if  the  manner  in  which  it  is  used  shows  a  lack  of  ele- 
gance, it  indicates  a  simplicity  that  belongs  to  innocence. 

The  women,  notwithstanding  the  assurance  of  Ad- 
ams, had  bewailed  the  young  men  as  lost  when  the  vessel 
disappeared,  and  when  they  arrived  on  shore,  uU  parties 
seemed  frfintic  with  joy. 

Our  boats  lay  beyond  the  surf,  and  the  patriarch 
brought  off  for  the  crews,  a  roasted  pig.  He  requested 
our  '  attention,'  and  said  grace  in  a  solemn  manner  and 
these  words,  '  For  what  we  are  to  receive,  the  Lord 
make  us  thankful.'  In  the  crowd  stauu.ng  on  the  cliff, 
[  pointed  to  a  couple  of  females  who  the  old  man  said 
were  hi  .1  daughters,  and  on  my  expressing  a  desire  to 
see  the>a  he  waved  his  hand  in  a  manner  that  shewed  he 
had  a  system  of  signals  ;  for  the  youngest  ran  down  the 
the  slope  and  without  waiting  for  the  returning  wave, 
plunged  into  the  surf.  She  needed  little  aid  to  get  on 
board,  and  in  the  same  moment  when  she  put  her  hand 
upon  the  gunwale  she  was  seated  at  her  father's  side. 


8 


LETTERS   FROM    A    MARINER. 


Her  countenance  was  decidedly  English,  and  constantly 
animated  with  smiles.  Having  received  many  presents, 
Hannah  returned  on  shore,  and  Mr  Adams  consented 
to  pass  the  night  on  board. 

But  he  could  not  compose  himself  to  sleep;  at  every 
movement  on  deck,  and  we  tacked  frequently,  he  ran  up. 
and  seized  a  rope  where  his  aid  was  little  wanted,  and 
cheered  the  sailors  with  the  exclamations  usual  in  haul- 
ing. Then  he  would  return  to  his  cabin,  where  ho 
was  often  heard  in  prayer.  As  ours  was  the  first  ship 
he  had  entered  since  the  Bounty  (for  I  think  he  did  not 
visit  Capt.  Folger's),  perhaps  the  revival  of  old  recollec- 
tions was  too  strong  for  his  philosophy,  or  perhaps  he 
feared  that  we  might  detain  him  as  a  prisoner.  My  own 
private  belief  was  that  his  intellect  was  a  little  disordered. 

I  went  on  shore  to  see  the  village,  and  was  received 
on  the  beach  with  a  general  *  welcome.'  We  passed 
through  a  grove  of  cocoa  palms  planted  with  regularity, 
and  the  broad  leaves  were  so  interlocked  as  to  exclude 
the  light  of  the  sun,  and  produce  a  twilight  at  noonday. 
Had  there  been  no  birds  to  sing,  it  would  have  been  al- 
most dismal.  The  trunks  were  large,  strait,  and  tall, 
and  the  whole  grove  looked  like  a  magnificent  temple  of 
pillars.  '  -  '  ' 

Near  this  is  the  village,  divided  by  a  swift  rivulet  of 
the  clearest  waters.  The  houses  are  of  plank  hewn 
from  the  tree,  and  the  windows  are  sliding  pannels.  In 
the  village  are  some  noble  banyan  trees,  which  make  a 
canopy  that  will  almost  exclude  the  rain.  Some  of  them 
look  like  a  pavilion,  and  in  all  it  seems  to  a  stranger 
that  nature  has  borrowed  the  aid  of  art.  The  branches, 
like  those  of  the  live  oak  in  America,  extend  themselves 
parallel  to  the  earth;  and  when  they  require,  from  their 
distance  to  the  trunk,  a  new  support,  a  shoot  like  a  prop 
falls  to  the  ground,  where  it  takes  root  like  a  new  tree. 
The  banyan  therefore  covers  a  great  surface. 


V 


y 


LETTERS   FROM   A    MARINER. 


9 


The  Otaheitau  women  followed  me  wherever  I  went, 
with  inquiries  of  their  long  lost  country;  for  they  per- 
sisted in  believing  that  I  had  come  last  from  Otaheite. 

To  Adams  we  gave  a  good  boat,  many  tools,  and 
some  useful  books.  To  the  young  people  we  promised 
a  supply  of  *  spelling  books,'  for  which  they  made  early 
and  anxious  inquiries.  Their  desire  to  learn  seemed 
very  great. 

We  received  the  spy-glass  of  the  Bounty,  and  a  few 
blank  books  that  had  been  on  board.  We  also  saw  the 
guns,  which  are  visible  at  low  water,  though  half  de- 
voured by  rust. 

I  had  the  pleasure  to  receive  many  pressing  invita- 
tions to  live  upon  the  island.  I  was  a  waif  on  the 
world's  wide  sea,  and  perhaps  it  had  been  better  for  me 
had  I  been  here  cast  ashore:  for  even  Hannah  promised 
that  if  I  would  remain  and  teach  her  to  read,  I  should  have 
a  house  of  my  own,  and  never  be  called  to  labor  in  the 
*yam  fields.'  Other  destinies  led  me  away,  but  not 
without  more  regret  than  I  can  express,  as  I  took  leave 
of  these  innocent,  kind,  and  happy  islanders. 

This  was  more  than  t^velve  years  ago,  and  I  have 
never  had  a  conveyance  for  the  spelling  books.  I  con- 
fess with  sorrow  that  I  have  not  sought  one:  if  you  can 
inform  me  of  such,  I  will  recover  a  little  self  esteem  by 
sending  those  and  better  books,  though  they  cannot  re- 
store to  the  Islanders  their  lost  simplicity. 


NO.  III. 


On  our  voyage  from  Pitcairn's  Island,  we  had  an  alarm, 
and  the  consternation  was  extreme.     I  had  one  night 


10 


"TTERS   p„OM   A   „A„,^^, 


,/ 


/ 


<hrown  myself  on  a  chesi  in  ,i.    r 

««'  <o  tl,o  skin,  wa,  ftlrl  «'«'='>««e,  and  (hough 

.       trembling  „r,he  ship      T "  ,  """"^  ''^  "  "»'«»« 

""•■"ier,  and  anotl^;  slf^o^r  """"""'«=  <«^"'« 
'"»l.ed  on  deck,  and  .he  heliof   "  °  """'■     ^"  '""«'» 
"-"^  oground.     The  lead  ,vl  «     ^°""'''  "■"'  "'« '■'■ip 
fo"".!.   The  shoeks,  however  h '""'"'  """  "»  '"""'■» 
--•„  and  .he,  o'eeurd    I  ^Z:,T''-''^  "Ka- 
The  pleasing  emo.ions  „f .,       ':"'''^  <'""ng  .„„  days, 
'he  Sandwieh  Islands:;';""™':  """'  *«  ''"'  -^s 
cip««iens  when  he  dis  ovtl^  "     "■•""  '"'  ''»^''  «"«- 
'he  Korthwes.  Coas.      ,;      "-^-'o-elad  moun.ains  of 
fi%  and  fiftyfive,  north  I  of"    ;'""°"  "■«  la.i.ude  of 

covered  comple.elywi.hdlnJlf'""  ''^™'''»>.  -"d 
«»<i  fir.     No  e„l.iva,  d  fi:,d;':7^°''''«'"'"'=''.»P™ce. 

J«ges  enhven  ,he  prospee.t  a      ;""' "™''=''> " '<"' 
'"nd  after  a  long  voyage  .h°     f  ^  "'  ''^  "■=-«  'ho 
'«"««<=ope.      I.  i!  o7eTa's  '2"  ''"  '""'^  '■™»'i  'he 
soli.ude.  ™"  mWeraess  and  unbroken 

;ngt  TsXar^e^wrrr' ''  T"  "'•'»■■■'«'  '-0- 

Wed  for  ,w„  leaguesld      .  '"  ""'"''  '"""h  "e  fol- 
Nowe,.ee.     HereTe  found  TT'  '""  ^""^  ""hor  of 
?he  Indians  had  made  I:a,.aekt'""r "  ""=""""  ""-h 
-g  a.  close  ,-iuarters  w^h  1^^^"  ''T  hefore-fight- 
par.  of  ,he  crew  in  close!   ■  ""''  ""  "=P"'=ed  by 

M»y  of.he  indi:n:ti; ':::r''"'•'''-sp*- 
<'nd„f,he  crew,, wo  were  hT",     '""■'"'''>' "'<""«'ed, 

i,„rt  """"""'"'='»<)  five  dangerously 

The  mas.cr  resolved  to  1  ave  ,ati,f,w 

vonge;  and  aOerwards,  wl,"  s  "  ?  "'  '"""  '"'"•  ''" 
«'<lo,  and  .he  fore  deck  rovlr"''!.  ''""'^ '''"''■' '«'''''«- 
'"Oo  if  they  migh.,  a  d  TelfifT  ""'  '"""  """«'^» 

--"'.o.egi;cn.osr;L'X!^;-;;i«^1 


LETTERS    FROM   A    MARINER. 


11 


a  ransom  of  furs.  But  the  accidental  discharge  of  a 
swivel  disconcerted  this  just  and  liberal  scheme  of  reta- 
liating the  wrongs  of  the  guilty,  upon  people  who  might 
be  innocent. 

On  the  first  alarm,  those  who  were  sitting  on  the  rail 
dropped  into  the  water  like  turtles,  and  others  farther  on 
board,  leaped  into  the  water  with  the  haste  of  a  startled 
frog. 

One  chief  was  taken,  and  his  ransom  fixed  at  twenty 
skins  of  sea  otter.  Afler  he  had  paid  it,  he  paddled  ashore 
v/ith  the  air  of  a  madman,  plotting  mischief,  or  rather 
planning  justice  and  revenge.  One  of  the  crew  of  ano- 
ther brig,  seeing  a  canoe  passing  that  held  some  men 
who  were  present  at  the  attack  on  the  other  vessel, 
edged  round  a  swivel  loaded  with  spikes  and  musket 
balls,  and  discharged  it  with  so  true  an  aim,  that  few 
survived  in  the  boat  to  tell  tlic  death  of  their  comrades. 

Our  captain  l)cg£^ed  of  another  master  a  little  girl 
seven  years  old,  that  he  might  restore  her  to  her  rela- 
tions, who  lived  northward.  The  child  had  been  but  a 
week  on  board,  when  we  reiiicukcd  a  woman  in  a  canoe 
under  tho  stern,  making  signals  to  her,  for  neither  knew 
the  otiier's  language.  At  night,  being  on  the  watch,  1 
heard  a  splash  in  the  wator,  and  then  the  sound  of  a  ' 
paddle.  I  skulled  after  in  the  jolly  boat,  as  fast  as  I 
could,  but  failed  to  overtake  the  canoe,  which  carried 
away  our  little  ca|)tive.  '    . 

This,  with  the  loss  of  a  whale  boat,  irritated  the  cap- 
tain, who  resolved  to  be  indemnified  for  at  least  his  ex- 
penses, Therefore,  when  accident  rather  than  justice 
favored,  he  began  to  execute  his  plan,  little  dreaming  to 
what  it  would  lead. 

A  canoe  from  an  inland  tribe  came  alongside,  manned 
with  ten  men,  each  armed  with  a  musket,  bow  and  ar- 
row, and  dagger.     The  chief  came  boldly  onboard,  and 


r/i!f*\ 


12 


LETTERS   FROM   A   MARINER. 


ii 


1        ! 

,! 


was  secured  in  the  cabin.  It  was  offered  to  his  com- 
rades to  ransom  him  at  twenty  sea  otter  skins,  and  it 
was  threatened,  if  the  price  did  not  forthcome,  to  take 
him  to  the  north  and  sell  him  for  u  slave.  At  this  trea- 
chery the  Indians  stared  wildly,  as  well  they  might,  and 
after  a  muttered  consultation,  dropped  under  the  stern. 
The  captive  in  the  mean  time  was  in  the  cabin  under 
the  guard  of  the  steward,  who  was  a  strong  man,  and  of 
the  ship's  tailor,  who  was  bolder  than  a  tailor  commonly 
is.  Each  of  these  was  sitting  on  the  transom  opposite 
a  cabin  window.  The  chief  untied  the  cotsack  from 
his  shoulder,  and  with  a  flying  leap  went  through  the 
cabin  window,  which  he  broke  with  his  head,  and  which 
was  barely  wide  enough  for  his  body.  In  the  next  mo- 
ment he  was  seated  in  his  boat,  examining  the  priming 
of  his  musket.  The  crew  ran  to  the  stern  with  their 
arms  pointed  at  the  natives,  who  on  this  demonstration 
rose  and*  presented  theirs  to  us.  Our  captain  ordered 
us  not  to  fire,  well  knowing  that  the  Indians  deserved 
less  punishment  than  praise,  and  in  fact  the  brave  bear- 
ing and  presence  of  mind,  in  our  captive,  won  our  admi- 
ration. But  unfortunately  the  transaction  was  seen  on 
board  another  vessel,  the  master  of  which  having  lost  a 
brother  by  the  Indians,  held  them  in  utter  hatred.  He 
discharged,  as  the  canoe  passed  him,  a  volley  with  such 
fatal  eflect,  that  one  Indian  only  remained  standing, 
who  paddled  the  canoe  beyond  the  reach  of  shot.  Still 
there  was  another  vessel  to  be  passed,  and  the  ferocious 
man  who  had  occasioned  all  this  carnage  called  ou&and 
requested  that  the  canoe  should  be  sunk.  The  master, 
though  he  knew  nothing  of  the  quarrel,  com^  -ed  with 
the  nefarious  request.  A  swivel  loaded  with  grape  was 
discharged,  the  boat  was  riddled,  and  the  last  brave,  un- 
offending, and  devoted  man,  fell  over  the  side. 


LETTERS  FROM  A  MARINER. 


IS 


We  learned  from  a  vessel  lately  arrived,  that  provi- 
sions commanded  a  good  price  with  the  Russians  at 
Norfolk  Sound,  and  thither  we  went.  Governor  Bare- 
nofT  purchased  all  our  supplies  for  twelve  thousand  seal 
skins,  worth  at  Canton  twenty  thousand  dollars.  Here 
we  hauled  up  for  several  months,  and  contracted  with 
the  governor  for  a  party  of  Kodiack  Indians,  expert 
with  the  bow,  to  hunt  sea  otters  on  the  coast  of  Cali- 
fornia. 

The  governor  had  the  national  hospitality,  and  hav- 
ing cellars  well  stored  again,  after  a  scarcity,  held  fre- 
quent assemblies,  where  each  guest  was  expected  to 
drink  fairly;  that  is,  cup  for  cup  with  the  man  in  office. 
This  point  was  never  waved,  as  an  idle  ceremony,  but 
entered  so  much  into  the  governor's  hospitable  feel- 
ings, that  none  had  independence  to  refuse  compliance. 
Hot  punch  was  the  liquor  to  which  we  sacrificed  con- 
science on  the  altar  of  complaisance,  and  I  know  men 
who  there  contracted  habits  of  intemperance  that  have 
destroyed  them. 

This  settlement  is  called  Sitka,  and  is  placed  at  the 
bottom  of  a  deep  bay,  with  anchorage  for  any  number  of 
ships.  The  country  is  in  barren  ridges,  covered  two- 
thirds  of  the  year  with  snow. 


NO.  IV. 


Sir — Our  hunters  amounted  to  two  hundred  and  four 
Kodiack  and  Onafaschan  Indians,  and  we  had,  beside, 
four  Russian  families.  Their  food  perfumed  the  ship. 
It  was  herring  and  whale's  blubber,  though  for  luxuries 
they  served  out  whortleberries  saturated  with  train  oil  j 
2 


rj^ 


SS 


14 


LETTERS  FROM  ▲  MARINER. 


,! 


and  I  have  known  the  Russians  reject  a  dinner  of  ship's 
provis  on  for  these  dainties. 

In  fourteen  days  we  anchored  off  the  island  Gatalina 
five  leagues  from  the  coast  of  California.  The  hunt, 
erstook  to  the  canoes,  and  crossed  over  to  the  main,  and 
we  followed  with  the  ship.  The  Mission  o  Saint  Ga- 
briel is  fidecn  leagues  from  t  e  coast,  but  a  corporal's 
guard  is  stationed  on  shore  to  give  notice  of  arrivals 
The  missions  are  twenty  or  thirty  miles  asunder,  and 
are  little  else  than  stations  for  trade.  The  Padres  are 
very  kind  and  honest  men.  There  are  about  twenty 
or  thirty  Spaniards  at  each  station,  and  perhaps  five 
hundred  Indians.  These  are  converted  in  a  summary 
way,  for  when  other  argument  fails,  the  bastinado  pro- 
duces instant  conviction. 

Hunters  are  sent  out  and  the  natives  are  brought  in 
at  the  horse's  tail.  They  are  caught  like  other  wild 
cattle,  by  the  Imo,  or  a  noose  dexterously  thrown  over 
them  from  a  distance.  They  soon  become  attached  to 
the  Padres  and  acquire  habits  of  industry.  Thse  In- 
dians are  a  gentle  race  very  unlike  the  tribes  of  the 
north,  which  are  warlike  and  cruel.  In  the  north  the 
natives  are  cunning,  deceitful,  and  vindictive,  never  for- 
getting offence,  but  in  the  blood  of  the  offender.  They 
are  active  in  the  chase,  and  with  a  musket,  the  best  of 
marksmen.  They  have  small  eyes,  high  cheek  bones 
and  the  general  aspect  of  a  Tartar.  Their  appearance 
supports,  the  belief  that  all  animals  constitute  a  chain, 
and  that  there  is  no  link  between  the  least  intellectual 
savage,  and  the  most  intelligent  monkey. 

Unlike  most  savages  they  care  little  for  ornament, 
though  beads  and  shells  arc  oflen  worn.  The  females, 
in  aid  of  their  natural  charms,  practice  the  arts  of  the 
toilet.  They  paint  their  faces  in  bright  fanciful  colors, 
and  the  under  lip  is  rolled  over  a  piece  of  wood  which 


f 


LETTERS  FROM  A  MARINER. 


16 


rests  upon  the  chin.  About  Columbia  River  many  of 
the  females  arc  handsome  as  far  as  shape  and  feature 
const itu  e  beauty.  ^ 

The  dress,  along  the  whole  coast,  is  a  blanket  thrown 
over  the  shoulders,  and  secured  by  a  string  in  front. 
Sometimes  I  have  seen  shoes,  stockings,  and  a  hat,  but 
never  on  the  same  person.  I  have  seen  also  a  chief  in 
a  marine's  cout,  but  then  he  had  no  other  garment. 

I  much  desire  to  see  a  colony* at  Columbia  River. 
The  colonists,  if  from  New  England,  would  find  a  better 
climate  than  they  would  leave,  and  a  soil  easy  and  fer- 
tile to  a  great  degree.  They  would  find  large  meadows 
fit  for  immediate  grazing,  and  fish  enough  for  an  army. 
I  have  bought  at  Columbia  River  for  five  leaves  ofiobac- 
co  a  salmon  large  enough  to  feast  the  whole  corporation 
when  the  most  hungry.  The  navigation  is  difficult,  as 
the  channel  of  the  river  changes  ;  but  two  pilots  would 
be  able  to  take  up  all  ships  in  safety. 

At  this  time  the  penalties  against  trade  with  foreign- 
ers, were  so  high  as  to  defeat  their  object.  In  fact 
every  man  was  a  smuggler,  and  the  law  a  dead  letter. 
The  military  commandant  himself  brought  down  his  cat- 
tle for  sale,  and  from  these  we  chose  thirty  that  would 
have  been  called  good  even  at  Brighton.  But  the  salt 
(to  use  a  mild  term)  was  execrable  and  we  had  fears 
that  it  would  not  preserve  the  beef. 

The  Spaniards  now,  for  the  first  time,  discovered  our 
hunters  darting  about  in  the  bay,  and  the  discovery  gave 
them  no  pleasure,  for  which  we  cared  littJe,  as  we  did 
not  go  there  to  please  the  Spaniards.  The  commandant 
recommended  a  departure,  and  as  no  water  was  to  be 
had,  we  gratified  him,  and  went  to  Catnlina  for  supplies 
Here  we  found  a  few  huts  occupied  by  people  so  shy 
and  genteel  that  they  ran  away  fr  m  us.  The  men 
were  naked  as  truth,  but  the  women  had  aprons  of  mat- 


■■< 


f 


16 


LETTERS   FROM   A    MARINER. 


i'» 


ting.  Their  hair  was  worn  ailer  the  fashion  of  a  pitch 
mop,  and  had  some  resemblance  also  to  n  crow's  nest. 
Their  bodies  were  glazed  with  filtti  and  their  ugliness 
such,  that  they  would  have  been  thought  plain  in  an 
assembly  of  Hottentots.  In  fact  they  were  the  lowest 
and  most  rusty  link  I  had  ever  seen,  in  the  chain  of 
mankind. 

Having  filled  our  casks  at  a  fountain  of  the  purest 
waters  that  ran  swiftly  across  the  beach  (and  that  I 
dream  of  to  this  day  when  athiist  and  nsleep),  we  sailed 
for  the  Bay  of  Saint  Qucntin.  This  was  our  head  quar- 
ters for  hunting  ;  and  our  first  duty,  and  you  may  be  sure 
it  was  also  our  pleasure,  was  to  discharge  the  Russians 
and  Indians  from  the  ship;  which  by  washing,  scraping, 
liming  and  fumigation,  we  rendered  habitable.  Wo 
next  examined  the  good  Californian  beef,  which  had  not 
taken  the  salt,  and  was  spoiled.  To  be  thus  deprived  <^ 
prog  disturltcd  our  equanimity;  such  is  Uie  dependence 
of  mind  upon  matter. 

Southcasi  from  the  anchorage  fourteen  leagues,  and 
from  the  continent  two  and  an  half,  is  Rock  Redondo; 
and  as  the  hunters  found  many  otter  in  the  vicinity,  this 
was  the  place  of  deposit  for  skins.  The  rock  produced 
no  water,  and  we  had  to  send  weekly  supplies  for  two 
hundred  and  fifty  men. 

Six  leagues  northward  from  our  anchorage,  and  not 
far  inland,  are  saline  ponds  which  aftbrd  large  quanti- 
ties of  salt,  and  I  was  one  of  the  crew  that  went  up  to 
them  for  supplies.  At  nigljt  we  arrived  at  the  ponds  and 
slept  under  a  tent  made  of  oars  and  sails.  In  the  morn- 
ing, as  I  was  removing  the  tent,  I  saw  something  stirring 
in  the  folds,  which  was  a  rattle  snake  five  feet  long  and 
large  enough  to  swallow  a  cat.  He  was  the  largest  I 
had  seen,  furnished  with  excellent  teeth,  and  a  rattle  fit 
for  a  watchman.     We   killed  about  twenty  more  upon 


u 1 1  ftfii'jhwi'  II 


LETTERS    FROM    A    MARINER. 


n 


the  coast.  We  never  found  them  inclined  to  attack,  but 
alw.nyg  ready  to  defend,  and  like  a  good  soldier  to  die 
upon  the  spot  they  occupied;  in  this  we  willingly  indulg- 
ed their  humor,  and  praised  wliile  we  pounded  them. 
Having  gathered  our  salt,  which  we  found  in  hard  cakes, 
we  made  an  excursion  up  the  country.  The  vallies 
were  covered  with  flowers  of  a  thousand  hues,  hut  the 
hills  were  hare.  It  was  like  walking  in  a  flower  garden, 
and  wo  strode  along  with  an  elevation  of  spirits  hard  to 
be  conceived  by  one  who  has  not  escaped  from  a  cargo 
of  blubber,  and  two  hundred  Kodiack  passengers.  We 
remarked  that  the  country  was  stocked  with  game,   for 


we  saw  geese, 


ducks,  curlews,  hares,  foxes,  and  deer. 


Our  next  excursion  was  to  Rock  Redondo.  Our  boat 
was  decked  over,  and  rather  too  large  for  oars.  When 
the  wind  was  northeast,  we  could  run  down  in  seven 
hours,  but  were  sometimes  seventy  in  making  a  return. 
On  the  course  back  we  had  a  quarter  of  beef  fresh,  a 
few  small  hsh,  eight  pounds  of  bread,  a  little  tea  and  su- 
gar and  twelve  gallons  of  water,  for  a  crew  of  five.  In 
the  morning  our  beef  had  become  so  much  tainted, 
that  we  gave  it  to  the  sharks.  We  had  worked  to 
windward  ten  miles  when  there  came  a  dead  calm,  and 
though  we  had  but  four  fish  and  the  bread,  we  made  a 
good  breakfast  in  the  hope  of  a  breeze.  Noon  came 
and  night  succeeded,  and  like  Don  Juan,  we  were  still 
becalmed.  On  the  next  day  came  the  breeze  after  we  had 
so  long  whistled  for  it,  and  scratched  upon  the  mast;  and 
at  sunset  we  saw  the  high  lands  back  of  the  bay.  In  the 
evening  it  was  calm  again,  but  there  was  a  heavy  swell 
of  the  sea,  and  a  strong  current  setting  to  the  south.  In 
the  morning  a  thick  fog  enveloped  us,  and  when  it  rose 
we  could  see  nothing  but  sea  and  sky.  Our  hunger  was 
appeased  by  the  stronger  force  of  anxiety.     Our  boat 

was  too  high  to  be  managed  by  oars  in  so  great  a  swell, 

2* 


mF^ 


m^mi^ 


'mm^mmm'm 


..ti^' 


18 


LETTERS   FROM   A    MARINER. 


and  wo  watched  for  a  breezo  as  the  convict  waits  for 
a  reprieve.  It  carried  us  in  night  of  land,  only  to  leave 
us  again  in  the  current.  We  wore  exhausted  with  hun- 
ger and  fatigue,  and  hope  died  nway  within  us. 

There  came  nt  last  a  slight  breo/,e  and  wo  started 
over  our  ballast,  and  a  tub  and  stones,  that  made  the  fire 
phice,  till  the  otiice  of  cook  became  a  sinecure.  The 
wind  then  came  freshly  from  the  southwest,  and  as  we 
never  after  or  before  knew  it  to  come  from  that  quarter^ 
it  seemed  sent  to  preserve  us. 


NO.  V. 


i 


Sir — I  crave  your  indulgence  to  a  few  more  extracts 
from  my  journal  in  California,  and  firstly  of  the  island 
Ceros.  It  is  ten  leagues  from  the  continent,  mountain- 
ous and  barren,  though  the  hunters  reported  some  val- 
lies  of  great  beauty  and  perpetual  verdure.  It  abounds 
in  deer,  of  which  we  took  many,  and  venison  '  finer  or 
fatter  '  was  never  lifted  on  a  fork. 

The  English  ships  once  used  to  come  here  to  take 
the  sea  elephant  for  his  oil.  We  found  the  animals 
wherever  we  landed,  and  murdered  two  of  the  weight  of 
iiAeen  hundred  pounds.  The  bodies  were  ten  feet  in 
length,  and  as  large  in  girth  as  the  ox  ColuinbuiS.  They 
resemble  the  sea  lion  in  all  things  1  ut  the  proboscis  that 
supplies  their  name.  On  land  they  are  clumsy,  but  few 
animals  move  faster  through  the  water.  When  attacked 
on  shore,  they  raised  themselves  on  the  hinder  legs, 
throwing  their  bodies  forward  to  meet  the  assailant;  and 
as  the  mouth  is  open  and  well  garnished  with  ivory, 
close  quarters  a''e  not  the  safest. 


^., 


LETTERS   FROM   A   MARINER. 


19 


At  Ccros  wo  throw  out  our  wood  thnt  was  old  and 
dry.  It  was  filled  with  worms,  nnd  wc  feared  that  for 
change  of  fare  they  would  take  to  u  fresh  hcam,  for 
they  u£>od  tlicir  ^itnblets  dexterously,  boring  the  timber 
as  much,  ulniost,  ns — I  am  boring  you. 

On  the  night  helore  wo  were  to  sail,  five  of  the  crew 
deserted  in  the  jolly  bout,  and  it  was  believed  that  they  had 
gone  to  the  main,  but  they  were  loss  wise.  An  Indian 
afterwards  informed  us  that  there  was  a  boat  sunk  with 
stones,  on  the  northern  part  of  the  island.  We  had  great 
need  of  their  service,  but  they  kept  out  of  the  reach  of  pro- 
cess. In  fact  at  this  time  the  whole  crow  was  dissatis- 
fied. The  captain  had  sold  iiis  bread  at  Norfolk  Sound, 
and  had  neglected  on  the  hunting  vojage  to  get  a  sup- 
ply. Boiled  wheat  was  our  substitute  for  the  staff  of 
life;  and  the  sailors  thought  it  was  'not  fit  for  hogs,' 
though  in  my  own  opinion,  it  was.  We  had  no  vegeta- 
bles, and  our  beef  would  have  amazed  a  Cossack.  Bet- 
ter fare  however  was  on  board,  and  this  justly  exaspeiat- 
ed  the  crew.  Good  beef  was  sliced  in  the  cabin,  and 
delicious  venison  hung  under  the  awning  on  the  quarter 
deck.  This  was  too  much  for  human  nature,  when  hun- 
gry, to  bear  ;  and  the  five  hands  who  deserted,  had 
adroitly  passed  into  the  boat  a  prime  saddle  of  venison, 
upon  which  they  feasted  on  hhore. 

They  might  have  denied  their  Saviour,  and  the  cap- 
tain would  have  forgiven  it  ;  but  in  taking  his  venison, 
they  pricked  him  where  he  was  more  sensitive,  and  he 
threatened  all  hands  with  the  rope  unless  the  offender 
stood  forth,  in  which  case  he  promised  amnesty  and  obli- 
vion. Everything  was  reconciled,  for  the  culprits  con- 
fessed the  fact,  and  pleaded  hunger  in  mitigation.  Yet 
the  captain  was  overheard  to  threaten  punishment  when 
he  got  into '  blue  water,'  and  this  idle  menace,  never  meant 
to  bo  executed,  was  the  cause  of  their  flight.     Thej 


\i 


so 


LETTERS   FROM    A    MARINER. 


I      I 


gave  up  three  hundred  dollars  each,  which  was  due  to 
them  as  wages,  encountered  a  thousand  hardships,  and 
perhaps  died  of  famine,  rather  thaa  be  degraded  by 
corporal  punishment.  ..  ^ 

In  summer  there  are  few  rains  in  California,  but  for 
a  while  the  plants  are  moistened  by  copious  dews; 
then  comes  '  the  sear,  the  yellow  leaf,'  drought,  faggot, 
and  fire.  From  August  to  December,  the  earth  is 
parched  and  cracked,  the  sfVeams  are  evaporated,  and 
the  cattle  dead  or  mad,  with  drought.  After  the  first  of 
March,  vegetation  is  so  rapid,  that  it  seemb  like  the 
shifting  of  a  scene  at  the  theatre. 

The  manner  in  which  our  hunters  took  the  sea  otter, 
was  various.  The  animals  are  shy,  and  must,  therefore, 
be  struck  from  a  distance.  They  were  sometimes  hit 
with  a  barbed  spear  attached  to  a  line  and  bladder  :  and 
an  Indian  seldom  misses  his  otter  at  eight  rods.  Ho 
kills  it  also  with  muskets  and  catches  it  in  traps.  In 
this  sport  the  Indians  are  very  zealous,  and  the  chase 
in  a  canoe  is  not  without  its  attractions. 

Now,  Sir,  imagine  me  at  Mazatlan,  in  Mexico,  near 
the  entrance  to  the  gulf  of  California.  The  town  is 
small,  and  about  thirty  miles  from  the  port.  From  this 
I  went  on  the  top  of  a  mule  to  Rosario,  filly  miles  ; 
through  a  country  covered  with  bushes,  in  a  path  just 
wide  enough  for  the  mule,  but  too  narrow  for  the  rider, 
among  the  sharp  thorns  oy  the  way-side.  There  were 
but  five  huts  on  the  way,  and  at  all  I  obtained  milk. 
Yet  the  soil  is  rich,  and  the  vegetation  so  vigorous  that 
the  vines  and  bushes  are  almost  impenetrable. 

Rosario  has  about  eight  thousand  people  and  sil- 
ver mmes  that  are  rich,  and  have  been  extensively 
worked;  but  the  first  veins  have  been  exhausted,  and 
the  miners  having  little  science,  have  not  discovered 
others.     Two  or  three  hundred  mules,  however,  were 


"TT* 


LETTERS   FROM    A   MARINER. 


21 


and 
by 


engaged  in  the  miriss.  Excavations  have  been  made 
under  the  town,  which,  like  Paris  and  Rome,  has  it  cata- 
combs; but  in  a  country  where  earthquakes  are  com- 
mon, it  is  not  prudent  thus  to  dig  the  grave  of  a  city, 
lest  the  first  shock  might  complete  the  burial.  These 
mines  were  discovered  by  a  shepherd,  who  found  in  the 
morning  under  the  ashes  of  his  evening  fire,  many  drops 
of  pure  silver,  for  he  had  made  his  camp  upon  a  rich 
bed  of  ore,  and  like  Martin  VValdeck,  converted  his 
brands  to  precious  metals. 

On  my  return  to  Mazatlan,  a  Chinese,  (whom  sailors 
call  a  Chinaman),  gave  me  such  language  that  I  tapped 
him  with  a  crabstick,  and  he  walked  away  making  vows 
to  the  Furies.  On  I  he  same  day  I  went  out  alter  game, 
and  was  warned  that  Achong,  with  pistols  and  knife,  was 
hunting  me.  I  came  back  by  the  house  of  the  com- 
mandant who  gave  me  a  file  of  soldiers  to  seize  the 
Chinese,  and  cun-y  him  aboard.  We  took  him  from  a 
crowd  of  Spaniards.  He  had  two  double  barreled  pis- 
tols loaded  and  bearing  the  mprk  of  Don  Ludovico  Tira- 
do,  my  very  good  Spanish  friend  who  wished  me  out  of 
his  way.  The  pistols  I  determined  to  keep  ;  but  going 
ashore  I  was  captured  myself,  and  forced  to  surrender 
them  for  ransnm.  The  Don's  brother,  hov/ever,  recon- 
ciled us,  whereupon  we  shook  bands,  and  (as  Le  Sage 
says,)  have  hated  each  other  ever  since. 

At  febout  this  'imf,  as  the  w^^atlier,  in  seaman's  phrase, 
looked  ng///,  the  ship  nut  out  to  sea,  to  have  room 
enough  to  ride.  I,  however,  was  on  shore  and  happened 
to  be  at  a  house  where  there  were  five  or  six  ladies,  with 
the  commandant.  At  noon  coir.nunen.'cd  a  fresh  gale, 
which  in  two  hours  was  a  hurricane;  and  at  three  o'clock, 
a  brig  and  a  schooner  were  driven  upon  the  rocks.  Our 
house  was  near  the  beach,  shaded  by  a  large  tree  of 
iron  wood,  but  in  other  respects  exposed  to  the  gale.    In 


iu 


I- 


n  LETTERS   FROM    A    MARINER. 

a  few  minutes  the  tree  was  stripped  of  every  branch, 
and  nothing  but  the  trunk  remained.  A  large  house 
was  unroofed  in  our  rear,  and  the  walls  left  standing  at 
an  unstable  angle. — Half  of  our  own  roof  was  carried 
away  by  an  invisible  agent,  and  the  house  itself  reeled 
as  if  about  to  fall,  or  share  the  fate  of  the  holy  one  of 
Loretto.  ^ 

There  were  pale  faces  in  our  garrison.  The  ladies 
invoked  the  saints,  principally  Saint  Anthony,  and  when 
the  sea  broke  its  bounds  and  came  roaring  towards  the 
house,  the  coolest  of  us  thought,  with  the  vanquished 
monarch,  that  all  was  lost  but  honor.  We  took  advan- 
tage of  a  momentary  respite  of  the  tempest  to  evacuate 
the  post  and  shelter  ourselves  under  a  wall.  A  sailor 
soon  came  from  the  stranded  schooner,  dripping  like  a 
river  god,  and  bearing  a  bag  of  dollars. 

Three  days  passed  without  tidings  of  our  vessel,  but 
on  the  fourth  she  encored  the  harbour.  The  crew  had 
taken  in  their  sail  in  time,  but  in  the  hr-dest  puff  of  the 
gale,  fearing  that  she  could  not  survive  upon  her  broad- 
B^do,  attempted  to  set  the  foretopmast  staysail  to  get  her 
belore  the  v/ind;  yet  the  sail  was  instantly  torn  from  the 
rope.  They  next  endeavoured  to  pay  her  off  with  tar- 
paulins in  the  fore  rigging,  but  in  vain,  for  she  lay  two 
hours  with  her  gunwale  under  water.  The  jolly  boat 
was  swept  from  the  stern,  and  the  whale  boat  forced 
up  against  the  davits,  and  by  the  power  of  the  wind 
alone,  broken  into  fifty  pieces.  In  ploughing  the  seas 
for  twenty  years  from  the  time  when  J  write,  I  have  had 
rough  weather,  but  have  never  known  a  tempest  half  as 
violent  as  this. 

This  is  all  that  is  noted  in  my  journal  atMazatlan,  ex- 
cept the  nature  nf  the  circulating  medium  received  by 
us  in  payment;  that  is  ten  bars  of  silver,  each  weighing 
seventy  pounds,  at  eighteen  dollars  the  pound. 


LETTERS   FROM   A   MARINER. 


23 


No.  VI. 


Sir — Tmngine  us  now  sailing  from  INTazatlan,  south- 
east, along  the  shore.  The  country  is  covered  with 
forests,  and  we  saw  many  cocoa  pahns.  There  is  little 
anchorage,  and  so  high  is  the  surf  that  there  is  no  safety 
in  landing  with  a  boat.  The  coast  is  flat^  but  six  miles 
inland  is  a  high  ridge  of  mountains,  and  we  saw  the  vol- 
cano Apanaca,  shooting  up  to  a  great  height  its  pyra- 
mid of  flame.  We  saw  huts,  and  villages  of  huts.  We 
discovered  but  one  man,  and  he  was  running  abreast 
with  us,  as  a  dog  chases  a  bird,  or  the  shadow  of  a  bird. 
At  last  he  gave  it  over,  and  sat  down  under  a  palm 
tree,  having  fatigued  himself  before  he  could  tire  the 
ship. 

The  first  port  v/e  arrived  at  was  Sonsonate  ;  the 
town,  however,  is  six  miles  from  the  port.  It  is  a  place 
of  little  trade,  for  all  the  commerce  centres  at  Guati- 
mala,  distant  fiAy  leagues.  '       ' 

The  surface  of  society  was  not  calm  :  the  people 
had  too  much  of  a  good  thing;  they  had  so  much  liberty 
that  they  were  free  from  some  useful  restraints.  Their 
prayer  to  Saint  Anthony  for  a  breeze  had  been  answer- 
ed by  a  hurricane. 

The  town  has  about  twelve  thousand  souls,  that  is, 
people.  It  is  near  a  river,  and  as  near  to  a  volcano  as 
Naples  is  to  Vesuvius.  The  mountain  throws  out  ashes 
and  cinders,  and  at  some  shocks  I  felt  the  ground  trem- 
ble under  my  feet;  but  the  people  live  in  the  same  fan- 
cied security  that  men  feel  in  the  plague.  On  our  re- 
turn to  the  ship,  the  boat  was  overset  in  the  surf,  and  all 
of  us  ducked,  but  no  one  damaged. 

Our  next  anchorage,  after  a  sail  of  twentyfour  days, 
was  Guayaquil.     It  is  on  the  river  of  that  name,  fifty 


■»"•■■«■ 


24 


LETTERS   FROM   ▲   MAUINER. 


V-i 


ri 


i  'a,    ' 


I 


<^' 


miles  from  the  sea.  The  streets  are  at  right  angles, 
the  houses  built  on  piers,  and  the  city  itself  is  about  two 
miles  long  on  the  river.  The  lower  rooms  arc  ware 
houses,  and  the  people  (a  mixed  race)  live  in  the  upper 
stories.  CLiayaquil  has  many  advantages,  and  might 
easily  be  made  beautiful;  there  are  noble  houses,  and 
there  is  a  wharf  the  whde  extent  of  the  city.  Yet  in 
the  rainy  season  the  stretts  are  filled  with  water,  and 
peopled  with  innumerable  hoiLts  of  frogs,  of  which  (as  is 
said  in  Alabama)  there  are  seventy  bushels  to  the  acre, 
with  alligators  enough  to  fence  them  in.  Under  a  good 
police,  however,  this  city  might  be  an  agreeable  resi- 
dence, for  though  nearly  under  the  line,  the  thermome- 
ter seldom  rises  above  eighty  degrees,  and  notwith- 
standing the  filth  and  stagnant  water,  it  is  not  unhealthy. 

We  made  a  short  excursion  into  the  country,  with 
guns  in  hand;  partly  it  was  made  in  u  canoe,  which  in 
several  narrow  creeks  roused  the  alligators  from  their 
lethargy  on  land,  and  many  of  them  fifteen  feet  in  length, 
took  their  '  sullen  plunge  '  into  the  water. 

We  saw  deer  on  the  bank,  but  they  were  too  shy  for 
a  shot;  and  we  saw  also,  on  our  return,  the  summit  of 
Chimborazo. 

Our  next  movement  was  to  Paita,  a  town  of  four  thou- 
sand people,  chiefly  Indians.  The  houses  are  of 
bamboo,  plastered  with  mud:  the  port  is  the  best  on 
the  coast,  and  there  is  some  trade,  though  the  merchants 
live  at  Pura,  distant  fourteen  leagues.  I  lived  ashore, 
shooting  pigeons  and  grey  squirrels,  and  when  we  de- 
parted for  Callao,  I  had  gained  in  weight  and  comeli- 
ness. I  should  have  told  you,  however,  before,  that  the 
master  was  my  relation,  and  made  my  duty  light. 

The  coast  to  Callao  is  sterile  enough  for  an  Arab; 
for  hundreds  of  miles  there  is  scarcely  a  tree  or  shrub. 
The  air  we  breathed  was  a  thick  fog,  though  we  could 


\.. 


LETTERS   FROM   A   MARINER. 


25 


angles, 
out  two 
•0  ware 
e  upper 
i  might 
ses,  and 
Yet  in 
t(^r,  and 
;h  (as  is 
tie  acre, 
r  a  good 
>le  resi- 
srmome- 
notwith- 
healthy. 


••y> 


with 


irhich  in 
)m  their 
I  length, 

»  shy  for 
nimit  of 

ur  thou- 
are    of 

best  on 

erchants 

i  ashore, 

I  we  de- 
comeli- 

that  the 

It. 

m  Arab; 

ir  shrub. 

ve  could 


take  the  sun  at  noon.  In  the  port  of  Callao  nothing 
was  visible,  and  but  for  the  ship  bells  we  should  hardly 
have  known  ourselves  to  be  in  harbor. 

I  went  up  to  Lima  for  a  day,  and  made  a  lodgment  in 
the  Freuch  Coffee  House.  At  Lima  my  journal  is  a 
blank,  and  I  can  only  tell  you  from  recolloc.ion,  that  the 
city  is  kept  remarkably  clean  by  streams  of  water,  con- 
ducted through  the  streets;  and  that  the  buildings  are 
generally  but  of  one  story,  for  the  earthquakes  are  too 
formidable  f )r  elevated  houses.  ,     . 

The  complexion  of  the  ladies  inclines  to  the  olive,  and 
in  walking  they  hide  with  their  mantle  all  their  face  but 
one  eye,  though  this  is  so  brilliant  that  it  may  be  felt. 
The  dress  fits  close  to  the  body,  and  jvould  not  be  tol- 
erated in  the  United  States;  and  perhaps  it  is  to  hide 
their  blushes,  or  the  want  of  them,  that  the  ladies  cover 
their  faces. 

From  Callao  I  returned  to  Guayaquil,  and  there  took 
passage  for  Panama.  This  is  a  walled  city,  and  was 
once  of  great  strength.  The  walls,  in  the  most  exposed 
points,  arc  twenty  five  feet  high,  and  of  equal  thickness. 
On  the  bomb  proof  battery  are  many  huge  |>ieces  of 
brass  ordnance,  weighing  from  four  to  six  tons.  One 
only  is  mounted,  and  that  in  so  bad  a  plight,  that  I 
should  not  like  to  apply  tlie  match.  The  streets  are 
neater  than  at  Guayaquil,  but  the  number  of  deserted 
and  crumbling  houses  give  to  Panama  a  character  of 
desolation. 

From  this  we  made  dispositions  to  cross  the  Isthmus, 
and  on  the  seventh  of  September  despatched  six  mules 
before  us,  with  baggage.  In  four  hours  we  followed, 
and  found  the  mules  and  baggage  waiting  at  a  farm 
house.  The  muleteers  were  making  merry,  and  cared 
less  for  our  remonstrance  than  for  the  braying  of  their 
•wn  mules.  At  last  we  set  off,  and  one  of  the  fellows, 
3 


m 


:amimmm 


m 


26 


LETTERS   FROA   A   MARINER. 


I 


whom  I  had  pre-judged  a  scoundrel,  felt  an  inclination 
to  bathe  in  a  fresh  rivulet;  and  this  delayed  us  another 
hour.  I  pretendftd  to  much  equanimity,  taking,  in  the 
saddle,  a  lunch  of  bread  and  cheese. 

The  mule  is  obstinate,  in  the  proverb,  but  this  is  in- 
justice to  the  muleteer,  who  has  a  stronger  claim  to  the 
same  kind  of  distinction. 

Having  crossed  a  mountain  torrent,  the  road  became 
so  bad  that  we  advanced  but  a  mile  and  a  half  an  hour. 
Here  we  gave  the  muleteers  a  glass  of  brandy,  and  it 
was  a  great  stride  towards  their  friendship.  At  two 
o'clock  we  came  to  a  farm  house,  where  the  muleteers 
began  to  unload  for  the  night,  and  we  took  it  quietly,  as 
remonstrance  w%s  a  vain  thing.  On  the  next  day  we 
travelled  in  the  worst  of  roads:  in  comparison,  the  dry 
bed  of  a  mountain  torrent  was  a  Macadamized  street. 
At  first,  we  dismounted  at  a  perilous  pass,  but  soon 
learned  to  commit  ourselves  with  confidence  to  the  dis- 
cretion of  the  mules. 

At  last,  (for  all  things  may  be  done  by  toil,)  we  arriv- 
ed at  Cruzes,  on  the  river  Chagres,  a  little  town  where 
travellers  and  topers  arc  so  few,  that  there  is  no  inn  for 
the  pleasure  of  the  one,  or  the  accommodation  of  the 
other.  The  town  has  a  population  of  two  thousand  ne- 
groes and  mulattoes.  It  is  seven  leagues  from  Panama, 
in  a  charming  situation,  and  with  as  rich  a  soil  as  was 
ever  tilled  or  neglected. 

To  the  muleteers  we  gave  fortythree  dollars,  and  for 
a  canoe  with  four  hands,  to  descend  the  river,  twenty 
dollars  more.  Our  bill  at  the  house  where  we  lodged 
was  only  sixteen  dollars,  for  the  lady  expressed  a  reluc- 
tance to  be  hard  with  strangers.  The  river,  in  descend- 
ing, affords  the  finest  views:  the  high  banks  were 
covered  with  various  tropical  plants,  and  there  was  a 
frequent  succession  of  Indian  villages. 


LETTERS   FROM   A   MARINER. 


27 


Chngres,  which  is  an  Indian  town,  is  the  most  filthy 
place  I  ever  beheld;  yet  I  had  seen  Lisbon,  and  lately 
been  at  Guayaquil.  The  castle  is  on  a  high  point,  and 
completely  defends  the  town. 

There  arc  about  fifteen  hundred  people,  and  (I  love 
a  sweeping  clause)  all  idle,  ignorant,  bigoted,  inhospi- 
table, and  dishonest.  Their  situation,  if  not  to  their 
taste,  accords  well  with  their  merits.  The  streets, 
which  are  gutters,  are  replenished  by  eternal  rains,  and 
endless  are  the  armies  of  rats,  mice,  lizards,  and  stinging 
and  buzzing  insects.  At  night,  the  rats  devoured  for  us, 
one  hat,  half  a  fiddle,  one  shoe,  a  cravnt,  an  umbrella,  a 
bundle  of  letters,  and  a  peck  of  oranges.  Human  life 
is  hardly  safe  from  such  vermin — human  comforts  van- 
ish before  them. 

Here,  Sir,  ends  the  first  voyage  of  Sindbad  the  Sailor; 
will  you  have  the  other  five  ? 


NO.  VII. 


Sir — My  second  voyage  was  in  a  good  ship  laden 
with  dollars,  from  Boston  to  Calcutta,  and  in  this  voy- 
age, and  in  those  that  grew  out  of  it,  I  shall  describe 
larger  cities,  and  more  interesting  modes  of  life  and 
death. 

Paulo  majora  canamus,  as  our  old  schoolmaster  used 
to  say  when  he  struck  up  '  Old  Hundred.' 

On  the  4th  day  of  November,  in  the  year  18 — ,  we 
took  wing,  (our  good  ship  vindicates  the  figure,)  and 
passed  swiftly  out  of  the  harbor.  The  first  night  I 
have  recorded  as  the  darkest  I  ever  knew,  for  with  such 
things  must  one  fill  a  sea  bo^jk.     Few  are  the  adven- 


***"-.«rV' 


mmi 


28 


LETTERS    FROM    A    MARINER. 


^ 


;   i 


tures  of  a  voyager  that  can  interest  a  landsman,  though 
a  small  thing  may  create  nn  excitement  on  board. 
Every  thing  is  relative,  even  glory  iJself,  as  you  may 
see  from  the  following  extract  from  the  log  hook;  and 
the  mate  had  not  even  a  Ihint  conce[)tion  of  what  edi- 
tors call  irony. 

*  Our  sail-maker,  Fotcr  Ulson,  a  native  of  Copenha- 
gen, this  day,  at  four  hours  tiiirty  minutes,  P.  M.,  com- 
pleted a  new  foresail,  which  ho  has  performed  to  the 
satisfaction  of  all  parties  concerned,  and  in  a  manner 
that  reflects  on  himself  the  gieatest  credit.'  Such  is 
the  *bubl)le,  reputation,'  yet  I  hope  to  share  the  sail- 
maker's  fame  by  recording  it,  as  Quititius  Curtius  is,  to 
this  day,  remeinhered  in  connexion  with  Alexander. 

Our  commander  had  a  face  as  grave  as  Garrick's 
between  tragedy  and  comedy,  or  a  more  humble  actor's 
on  a  slender  benefit;  yet  he  had  an  invincible  propensi- 
ty to  waggery,  and  was  very  inventive  of  practical  jokes, 
some  of  wliich  fell  heavily  up^n  nic.  He  was  a  good 
man,  faithful  to  his  friend,  and  fond  of  his  bottle;  though 
his  fondness  predominated  over  his  fidelity.  As  it  was 
his  custom  to  throw  over  his  flasks  as  fast  as  they  were 
emptied,  which  happened  at  short  intervals,  he  was 
reported  by  the  captain  of  another  ship,  who  knew  ours 
and  the  master,  by  the  chain  of  bottles.  This  is  some- 
what after  the  mode  of  the  Kennebunkers  in  the  West 
India  trade,  who  drop  shingles  as  they  go  out,  that  they 
may  find  the  way  home  by  tracing  tliem  back. 

Our  captain  watclied  as  narrowly  as  the  youngest  on 
board,  for  means  and  incidents  to  give  an  impulse  to 
time,  and  to  vary  our  monotonous  life.  Some  deadly 
feud  had  arisen  between  the  cook,  a  JVIadagascar  negro, 
and  the  steward,  a  Lascar;  though  'it  was  as  if  this 
mouth  should  tear  this  hand,  ior  lifting  food  to't.'  They 
desired  a  combat;  and  the  captain  gave  his  permission, 


'^-jfe' 


LETTERS   FROM    A    MARINER. 


29 


and  pis?tol9.  Anger  was  n  little  mollified  by  fear,  but 
shame  opposed  a  pacification.  'Jhe  crew  were  railed, 
the  mate  loaded  the  pistols,  and  the  captain,  after  re- 
commending their  souls  to  mercy,  gave  the  signal.  Both 
parties,  at  the  report,  leaped  a  yard  from  the  deck,  and 
the  Lascar,  being  spattered  with  red  ink,  was  made  to 
believe  himself  wounded,  and  was  afterwards  humbled 
when  reminded  of  it;  though  he  protested  against  fight- 
ing with  cranberries.  I'hus,  with  a  stiff  breeze,  and 
relaxed  discipline,  we  went  on  our  way  rejoicing. 

One  night  I  was  roused  from  sleep  by  the  voice  of 
the  oaptain  calling  down  curses  upon  something  un- 
known and  dreaded;  when  I  entered  the  cabin,  he  had 
struck  a  light,  and  was  dressing  a  large  flying  fish.  It 
had  entered  the  quarter  port  hole,  while  he  was  asleep, 
and  by  its  coldness  to  the  touch,  perplexed  and  alarmed 
the  worthy  man,  who,  to  this  day,  dislikes  to  be  remind- 
ed of  his  consternation. 

In  the  vicinity  of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  we  took, 
with  the  hook  and  line,  several  web  footed  cape  pi- 
geons, and  in  the  same  way  an  albatross,  of  twenty 
pounds,  with  wings  of  eleven  feet.  He  straggled  like 
a  haddock,  but  we  landed  him  on  deck.  It  was  as  good 
as  trout  fishing,  though  the  flesh  was  tough,  tasteless, 
and  dry. 

Sometimes  we  gave  a  furlough  to  the  geese,  who  take 
to  the  water  with  alacrity,  every  one  the  moment  he 
was  loose,  diving  to  a  great  depth;  with  the  intent,  as  I 
suppose,  of  finding  gravel,  whereupon  I  pounded  shells 
as  a  substitute,  which  they  devoured  eagerly.  In  every 
vessel  there  should  be  carried  gravel  for  the  poultry. 

One   night,  as  the  mate  was  chasing  the  cook  with  a 

rope's  end,  to  give  him  what  Ben  in  the  play  calls  '  a  salt 

eel  for  his  supper,'  the  man  of  the  fryingpan  jumped 

•verboard,  while  the  ship  was  walking  five  knots.    He 

3# 


30 


LETTkns    FROM   A    MARlfTER. 


I     VI 


grasped,  however,  the  fore  sheet,  and  after  he  had  re- 
ceived several  diicking$>,  we  boused  him  in,  fur  he  did 
not  relinquish  his  hold  upon  hfe,or  the  rope;  not  ahvayt 
synonymous  terms. 

At  the  miiuth  of  the  Iloogly,  we  took  an  EngHsh 
pilot  for  Calcutta.  The  stream  is  mtiddy,  and  runs 
about  four  knots  an  hour;  it  has  a  few  islands,  and  I  re- 
member only  that  of  Saugre,  at  the  mouth.  Here  it  was 
that  poor  Monroe  was  carried  off  by  a  tiger,  as  he  sat 
eating  with  his  companions;  the  beast  wati  immedi- 
ately shot,  but  too  late  to  save  his  prey. 

At  Calcutta,  1  had  been  about  five  minutes  ashore, 
when  I  was  nabbed  by  a  police  offiror,  who  gave  me 
in  charge  to  an  armed  Stpoy;  who  carried  me  three 
miles  into  the  country,  as  a  juror  on  a  poor  GentoO) 
wl\o  had  killed  himself  feloniously.  lie  had  been  much 
involved  in  debt,  owing  three  rupees,  (about  a  dollar 
and  a  half)  which  he  could  r.ever  hope  to  amass.  It 
sunk  into  his  spirits,  and  he  did  what  Cato, 
had  never  heard  of,  bad  done  before  him. 

The  variety  of  people  seen  in  the  streets  is  amusing; 
there  are  Turks,  Persians,  Chinese,  Africans,  JMalays, 
Englishmen,  and  others.  As  many  operations  are  car- 
ried on  in  the  open  air  as  at  Naples,  and  jugglers  are 
as  busy  as  Punch  at  the  Carnival.  The  barber  goes 
round  looking  in  faces  for  a  beard,  though  he  made  no 
discoveries  in  mine;  the  sufferer  sits  down  upon  his 
hams,  and  he  that  shaves  performs  his  duty  well. 

The  jugglers  frequently  have  a  long  snake,  and 
.  sometimes  a  Cobra  di  Capello,  with  an  eye  ♦hat,  as 
Hamlet  says',  means  micking  mnllecho.  Others  have 
goats  well  trained  to  balance  themselves  on  a  small 
round  of  wood,  and  Capricorn  is  elevated  by  additional 
rounds,  till  he  is  several  feet  from  tho  ground;  where 
he  stands  like  a  republican  in  office,  at  the  mercy  of  the 


whom  he 


*'• 


LETTERS   FROM   A   MARINER. 


91 


ic  had  re- 
fur  he  did 
ot  always 

English 
and  runa 
and  I  re- 
ire  it  was 
as  he  sat 
immcdi- 

ashore, 
jiive  me 
»e  three 
Gentoo, 
■n  much 
a  dollar 
ass.  It 
hom  he 

fn  using*; 
^falays, 
ire  car- 
ers are 
!r  goes 
ade  no 
on  his 

't   and 
at,  as 

have 

small 
itional 
ivhere 
of  the 


first  man  who  will  give  his  supporters  a  kick.  Some- 
times the  jugglers  have  tall  ladders,  which  they  will  so 
balance  as  to  go  up  on  one  side,  and  down  on  the  other; 
and  the  captain  saw  one,  who  drew  up  the  'iddcr  a(\er 
him,  but  this.  Sir,  I  never  saw. 

There  ic  a  large  commonwealth  of  kites,  among 
which,  as  with  the  Spartans,  it  is  not  dishonorable  to 
steal.  They  will  plunder  a  basket  of  provisions,  car- 
ried on  the  head,  though  I  know  not  that  they  will  lif\ 
a  turban,  as  related  in  the  Arabian  jNights;  yet  they  are 
so  unjust  and  bold,  that  they  will  pounce  upon  a  fish 
when  hauled  by  a  line  from  the  water. 

But  the  queerest  of  birds  is  the  adjutant,  five  feet 
high,  and  of  a  melancholy,  genllcmanjike  aspect.  He 
has  blue  wings  faced  with  white,  a  white  vest,  bufif 
breeches,  and  a  tuft  of  black  upon  his  cap.  You  may 
see  a  regiment  in  line,  on  the  long  roofs,  where  they 
make  a  show  as  formidable  as  the  Ancient  and  Honor- 
able Artillery  Company.  However,  like  that  grave 
body,  they  understand  not  all  the  stratagem  of  war. 
They  are  voracious  as  ostriches,  and  I  have  seen  the 
mischievous  soldiers  throw  them  a  bone  to  pick,  filled 
with  powder  and  furnished  with  a  slow  match;  and  the 
poor  adjutant  is  blown  up  while  taking  his  comfort; 
even  like  our  Madagascar  cook,  into  whose  pipe  I  in- 
troduced, at  times,  a  little  nitre. 

In  my  next,  I  will  tell  you  of  the  sacrifice  of  a  young 
widow  to  the  manes  of  her  lord;  whereas  the  females 
in  your  own  christian  city,  are  often  iinmolated  while 
the  husband  lives. 


S3 


LETTERS    FROM    ▲    MARINER. 


No.  VIII. 

Sir — JVni  nu'ria  cnrUivpif  adirc  Cafrvffom — thnt  is,  as 
you  have  never  had  the  good  fortune  to  see  Calcutta, 
permit  mc  to  say  something  of  it. 

The  chinato,  at  the  time  of  onr  nrrivnl,  realized  my 
anticipations  of  the  fine  air  of  the  tropics,  though  a  few 
days  were  warm  enough  to  be  called  hot.  On  these 
days,  ot  noon,  it  was  no  time  for  a  race,  hut  the  morn- 
ing and  evening  were  delicious.  The  mechanical  art  of 
breathing,  which  in  New  England  is  hut  a  negative  sort 
of  satisfaction,  and  in  a  fog,  oppressive,  seemed  in  Cal- 
cutta to  be  a  positive  pleasure.  I  remember  that  we 
had,  in  our  long  train  of  retainers,  an  Ethiopian  who 
had  passed  his  lile  under  the  line,  and  who  was  there- 
fore tanned  as  dark  as  Ercibua.  I  one  day  beheld  him 
sleeping  on  a  sand  bank  under  a  sun  that  would  have 
roasted  an  egg.  When  the  shade  of  a  building  fell  upon 
his  leg,  he  seemed  uneasy;  but  when  the  shadow  cover- 
ed his  body,  he  v/as  roused  by  the  chill,  and  rolled  him- 
self into  the  sun.  At  this  time  I  was  peeled  to  the  skin, 
and  barely  kept  myself  from  melting,  like  a  tallow  can- 
dle, by  sipping  iced  water.  There  is  a  very  comforta- 
ble machine,  above  the  dinner  table,  called  a  punkah, 
by  which  several  huge  fans  are  kept  in  motion  by  an  at- 
tendant, who  pulls  the  strliig  This  creates  a  breeze, 
and  scatters  the  flies. 

The  servant  to  whom  the  administration  of  the  pun- 
kah is  committed,  has  no  other  duty  to  do  or  suffer;  for 
with  the  native,  exertion  is  suilering.  The  distinction 
of  castes,  which  is  as  exclusive  as  in  your  aristocratic 
city,  seems  to  have  been  devised  as  a  division  of  toil, 
where  all  are  indolent.  This  distinction  of  classes,  how- 
ever, is  hard  to  be  broken;  and  so  severely  does  a  na- 


^).. 


\^ 


~ 


LETTEHS    FROM   A    MARINER. 


33 


tivo  feci  tho  *  loss  of  cnste,'  that  ho  will  retrieve  it  by 
somo  bodily  siinering,  thoii;^li  I  aver  not  that  I  have 
seen  the  ceremony  1  am  al)out  to  describe.  A  tall  pole 
is  erected,  with  a  line  h.in^inf^  from  tho  top,  and  to  this 
is  attached  nn  enornums  hook,  lar<jo  enough  for  a  shark. 
Tiiis  is  forced  under  some  of  the  muscles  in  the  back  of 
him  who  has  lost,  and  would  retrieve!,  his  caste;  and  he 
is  whirled  round  in  a  circle  till  his  rruilt  is  expiated,  and 
he  stands  '  redeemed,  regenerated,  and  disenthralled.' 
This  inchides  more  than  the  definition  of  angling — '  a 
rod  and  line,  with  a  worm  at  one  end  und  a  fool  at  the 
other;'  for  here  is  a  fool  at  each  end. 

But  it  would  be  an  endless  task  to  describe  the  Hin- 
doo superstitions,  and  the  tenacity  of  their  hold  upon  the 
mind.  One  of  their  customs  is,  to  throw  the  dead  into 
the  river,  and  the  bodies  are  oaten  by  fishes  and  can'on 
crows.  Life  is  sometimes  left  when  the  body  is  commit- 
ted to  the  stream.  Our  captain  once  picked  up  an  old 
man,  who  \vn«  fhrnc^hf  Kv  his  iplrtions,  to  '  have  lived 
long  enough/  though  his  life  was  prolonged  a  week  on 
board  tlie  ship. 

One  wretched  man,  suffering  under  the  hydrophobia, 
was  carried  to  the  bank  to  die.  The  convulsions  occa- 
sioned by  the  vicinity  of  the  water,  were  horril)le  to  see. 
He  died,  and  the  widow  resolved  to  burn.  According- 
ly, time  and  place  were  appointed,  and  the  place  was 
Barnagore,  three  miles  from  the  city.  Thither  I  went, 
under  the  operation  of  the  feeling  that  led  a  Roman  ma- 
tron to  the  amphitheatre,  and  that  leads  a  Spanish  lady 
to  the  circus.  Tlie  crowd  was  not  so  large  as  a  similar 
sacrifice  would  collect  in  Boston,  where  I  fear  it  would 
be  difficult  to  find  a  widow  who  would  hear  reason  in 
the  way  of  burning.  It  is  true,  that  she  might  blaze 
before  the  public,  but  then  she  would  burn  only  for  a 
second  husband,     E.\cuse  a  pun,  sir,  for  I  am  told  that 


:>...  'f 


iSBBSaWS-ffl 


wm 


34 


LETTERS   FROM   A   MARINER. 


I    I 


you  sometimes  make  one  yourself.  This  Hindoo  cus- 
tom, however,  has  its  advantages;  making  wives  tender, 
who  would  otherwise  be  termagant,  and  upholding  affec- 
tion with  the  strong  arm  of  self-preservation;  for  the  fu- 
neral pile  in  the  perspective  of  the  conjugal  picture,  is 
apt  to  remind  the  wife,  to  take  a  reverend  care  of  the 
health  and  comforts  of  the  husband. 
..  At  five  o'clock  arrived  the  official  permission  for  the 
rites  of  Moloch.  It  was  announced  by  an  infernal  yell 
from  the  natives,  and  I  shuddered  to  hear  it,  ad  when  I 
lately  heard  the  roar  of  the  pit  and  gallery,  and  of  the 
blackguards  in  the  boxes,  at  an  indecent  allusion  on  the 
stage.  When  you  next  hear  the  same  roar,  let  the  o^ 
fenders  feel  the  insulted  majesty  of  ihe  press. 

The  widow,  who  was  pretty  and  young,  descended, 
when  the  shout  subsided,  from  her  palankeen,  led  by  an 
accursed  priest.  She  was  dressed,  as  a  victim  should 
be,  in  white.  She  walked  into  the  river,  and,  whdn  she 
came  oul,  put  on  a  more  splendid  dress.  When  her 
child  l.ad  put  a  bit  of  cake  into  her  mouth,  she  walked 
three  times  round  the  pile,  scattering  boiled  rice,  which 
was  picked  up  by  those  ill  omened  cr^ws,  the  priests, 
and  her  relations.  Then  she  tl.rew  into  the  air  a  nose- 
gay, or  a  bough,  and  mounted  the  pile  with  alacrity,  and 
a  smile  upon  her  face.  She  laid  herself  by  the  side  of 
her  husband,  throwing  hei  arms  about  his  neck.  Two 
poles  were  passed  over  the  bodies,  after  the  manner  of 
a  lever,  and  a  hound  of  a  priest  sat  upon  one  .nd  of  each 
pole.  Then  her  unnatural  relations  covered  the  body 
with  dried  reeds,  and  her  son,  aged  six  years,  applied 
the  torch. 

In  a  moment,  the  pile  was  in  a  blaze.  T  was  very 
near  to  it,  but  saw  no  struggling  in  the  v/oman,  except 
the  contraction  of  her  arms  aiound  the  neck  of  husband. 
Her  features,  while  !  could  see  them,  were  not  distort- 
ed, but  the  froth  gathered  at  l^er  mouth. 


LETTERS   FROM   A   MARINER. 


d5 


I  returned  to  the  city  in  a  palankeen,  which  is  a  very 
pleasant  vehicle,  though  at  first  apt  to  remind  the  stran- 
ger of  his  coffin.  You  have  seen  it  caricatured  on  the 
stage  in  Boston,  but  the  veritable  Bengal  palankeen  you 
will  find  Only  in  S.\'  ?in.  The  bearers  go  off  briskly  ia 
a  dog  trot,  at  about  four  miles  and  a  half  an  hour.  They 
are  beasts  of  burden  only;  for,  from  the  distinction  of 
caste,  or  some  other  reason,  they  will  not  draw.  We 
had  in  our  employment  eighteen,  and  they  were  ordered 
to  take  a  chaise  to  another  part  of  the  city.  They 
would  not  draw  it,  but  contrived  a  way  to  carry  it  on 
poles. 

If  you  would  see  all  the  dresses,  and  many  of  the  pro- 
ductions, of  the  East,  visit  at  Salem  the  Museum  of  the 
East  India  Marine  Society.  It  is  a  noble  collection, 
and  is  one  among  many  of  the  advantages  of  the  India 
trade  to  Salem.  This  trade  from  the  United  States  was 
commenced  by  INIr  Derby — 

•  Clarum  et  venerabile  nomen,' 
a  man  who  led  the  way  to  the  wealth  of  the  Indies,  and 
laid  a  noble  foundation  for  the  honor  and  fortunes  of  hia 
descendants.  The  Marine  Society  is  composed  of 
weather-beaten  and  storm-proof  captains  or  supercar- 
goes, who  have  doubled  the  southern  cape  of  Africa  or 
America.  For  several  years-  iliere  was  a  procession 
and  dinner,  but  the  ridicule  of  the  press  has  ended  the 
processions,  while  the  dinner  is  wisely  retained.  The 
procession  was  as  good  as  Abolition  itself,  which  it 
resembled,  as  much  as  Asia  is  like  unto  Africa.  The 
officers  hau  mandarin  cloaks,  and  other  oriental  garbs, 
and  the  man  that  attends  in  the  museum  was  robed  like 
a  Chinese,  and  carried  a  tail  like  a  streamer,  sweeping 
the  ground.  Ihe  palankeen  was  borne  by  four  blacks, 
introwsers  and  turbans.  A  boy  sat  within,  dressed  like 
a  nabob,  and  another,  like  a  slave,  carried  the  hooka  by 


"^^rr^K^. 


•rrr-!»rr?v;* 


^WBPflP 


36 


LETTERS   FROM   A   MARINER. 


■\: 


•.   i 


his  side.  The  hooka,  is  an  enormous  pipe,  with  a  long 
flexible  tube,  that  resembles  a  snake.  These  good  old 
times  are  ever,  the  exhibition  discontinued,  and  a  Salem 
mariner  is  apt  to  look  grave  when  the  procession  is  men- 
tioned, and  to  watch  an  opportunity  to  change  the  con- 
versation. 

The  English  in  India  have,  as  at  home,  a  passion  for 
thtf  chase,  and  magniticent  are  the  field  sports  of  the 
East.  The  daring  of  the  hunters  is  almost  beyond  be- 
lief. Putnam,  with  the  wolf,  was  engaged  in  children's 
play;  for  in  Bengal  more  than  one  similar  pursuit  of  a 
tiger  is  recorded.  I  once  saw  an  officer  with  a  limp  in 
his  gait,  who  had  been  wounded  in  hunting  the  royal 
tiger.  The  elephant  on  which  he  rode  had  given  the 
game  so  rude  a  reception  with  his  tusk,  that  the  hunter 
supposed  him  dead,  and  leaped  down  without  fear.  But 
the  death  was  a  feline  artifice,  and  the  tiger  seized  the 
poor  hunter  by  the  thigh,  slung  him  over  his  shoulder, 
and  carried  him  off"  as  a  fox  takes  away  a  goose.  The 
officer  had  two  pistols  in  his  belt;  with  the  first  he  broke 
a  rib  of  the  beast,  who  signified  his  gratitude  by  taking 
a  new  bite  upon  the  thigh:  but  at  the  second  discharge 
he  was  lucky  enough  to  pierce  the  heart,  and  escaped 
to  tell  the  story. 


,;>'^' 


I 


NO.  IX. 


i 


S:n — I  can  tell  yon  no  more  of  Calcutta,  except  that 
the  Tank  covers  twentyfive  acres,  t!.at  there  is,  and 
ought  to  be,  a  monument  to  i^ord  Clive,  that  the  En- 
glish cake  the  dew  and  the  dust  on  the  Cheringa  road, 
and  that  two  sides  of  the  Black  Hole  are  extant,  re- 
sembling  the  Galaxy  office,  but  mure  commodious. 


LETTERS   FROM   A   MARINER. 


37 


I 


r'P' 


Now  fancy  us  in  the  grand  straits  of  Sunda,  with 
high,  bold  shores  covered  with  the  richest  tropical  veg- 
etation. Boats  came  off  for  traffic,  and  we  bought,  for 
twelve  dollars,  eig^^teen  large  turtle,  and  were  offered 
monkeys,  parrots,  and  birds  of  paradise. 

Batavia,  is  called  the  Queen  of  the  East,  though  it 
is  but  a  Dutch  (jueen.  We  anchored  four  miles  from 
the  town  in  nine  fathom  water,  the  dome  of  the  church 
bearing  south,  half  east.  We  found  about  forty  sail  of 
European  and  American  ships,  and  a  great  many  Chi- 
nese junks. 

The  season  had  been  so  sickly  that  six  hundred  peo- 
ple had  died  in  a  day,  and  fliat  we  might  not  be  exposed 
to  the  sun,  Malays  were  hired  to  do  the  work  of  the 
ship.  I  went  on  shore  and  I'ound  the  city  in  a  low  and 
obscure  situation,  intersected  with  canals,  (for  when 
did  Dutchmen  build  a  city  without  them.')  and  shaded 
with  tamarind,  and  other  beautiful  trees.  Some  of  i.he 
main  streets  make  a  good  show,  but  nothing  in  Timbuc- 
too  can  be  meaner  than  the  Chinese  quarter.  The  Chi- 
nese, however,  are  brisk,  cheerful,  and  industrious,  living 
in  a  strange  land,  and  on  the  fat  thereof,  like  a  Scotch- 
man in  England,  or  a  Yankee  in  the  Southern  States; 
'»flii'.2  the  Javanese  seemed  torpid,  indolent,  and  sullen. 

ii/'ck  Bill,  a  shrewd  negro,  who  has  been  rich,  is 
c  !'  c  the  American  Consul;  and  he  furnishes  boats  and 
supplies  for  the  ships.  Limpo  Ghann,  an  old  China- 
man, has  the  credit  of  keeping  tlie  best  grog  sho,  5 
where,  I  -i  ieve  to  say,  is  the  rendezvous  of  my  coun- 
trymen, who  soon  fall  into  the  Dutch  custom  of  taking 
schnaps. 

The  Chinese  held  a  festival,  on  some  occasion  to  me 

unknown,  and  brought  out  Josh,  their  hideous  idol.     A 

pIitfLrm   was  erected  on  the  top  of  several    tall   and 

smooth  poles,  and  covered  with  provisions.     At  a  signal, 

4 


Wip» 


mm 


I 


V  h 


38 


LETTERS   FROM    A    MARINER. 


there  was  a  scramble  for  the  provisions,  many  Chinese 
climbling  up  the  poles  at  once;  and  their  zeal  and  the 
diiFiculty  of  the  ascent,  were  very  ludicrous.  Those 
below  might  have  hauled  down  those  above,  by  the 
queue,  but  that  it  is  a  deadly  injury  to  take  a  Chinese 
by  the  tail.  He  may  forgive  the  inadvertence  of  a 
stranger,  and  intreat  him  to  let  alone  his  hair,  but  in  a 
countryman,  the  insult  would  be  grievous.  It  is  some- 
times indicted  as  a  ponalty  on  a  Chinese,  to  be  deprived 
t)f  his  s  ,  -imer,  but  lest  it  should  fall  into  the  hands  of 
a  strangtr  original  proprietor  will  buy  it  at  a  great 

price,  I,  nr  If,  am  the  owner  of  a  queue  like  a  pump 
handle,  and  should  be  glad  to  find  a  purchaser.  There 
was  a  great  commander  at  Goa,  who  filled  the  military 
chest  by  the  mortgage  of  his  whiskers;  pray  ask  your 
broker,  if  in  these  times,  he  will  advance  a  small  sum 
on  the  security  of  mine.  •>    . 

In  the  vicinity  of  the  city,  are  splendid  mansions, 
amid  ".jcautiful  gardens,  and  groves  of  tall  cocoa  palm. 
This,  Sir,  is  a  country  to  live  in,  though  it  is  proper 
that  u  stranger  should  be  ready  also  to  die;  for  pestilence 
walks  abroad  like  love,  breathing  spices  and  scattering 
destruction. 

I  went  a  short  distance  in  a  machine  carrying  two 
passengers  within,  a  postillion  forward,  and  three  iackies 
without;  the  whole  drawn  by  two  horses,  so  small,  that 
they  reminded  me  of  a  rat  dragging  away  his  trap.  All 
strangers,  who  have  dignity  and  would  preserve  it,  or 
health,  and  would  not  lose  it,  must  keep  one  of  these 
coachcH,  for  the  sun  strikes  with  so  much  force  that  no 
common  head  can  resist  it.  When  I  relumed,  ten  hands 
were  down  with  fever,  and  I  myself  felt  the  symptoms, 
which  I  put  to  flight  with  medicines. 

While  we  lay  in  port,  there  were  heavy  rains,  and 
such  thunder  and  lighting  as  you  .have  never  heiird  or 


LETTERS    FROM    A    MARINER. 


39 


seen.  A  ship  alongside,  received  a  flash  on  the  fore- 
royahii^^st  head,  which  went  oft'  through  the  lower  hends 
leaving  fearful  vestiges  of  its  power.  The  foretopmast 
was  splintered,  and  flew  in  all  directions;  the  royal  top- 
gallantmast  fell,  and  the  foremast  took  fire.  These 
tempests  brought  the  advantages  of  a  purer  atmosphere, 
for  before  they  came  the  air  was  like  that  of  a  heated 
oven,  yet  at  noon  the  sea  breeze  generally  gave  a 
little  relief. 

The  slaves  are  principally  Malays,  and  are  prover- 
bially stupid.  It  is  said  that  when  the  master  suspects 
the  slave  of  theft,  he  gives  him  a  piece  of  wood,  keep- 
ing one  of  the  same  length  himself,  and  telling  liis  man 
that  if  he  has  stolen,  his  stick  will  grow  at  night,  an 
inch  longer  than  the  other,  whereupon  the  Malay,  if 
guilty,  cuts  ofl^  an  inch,  and  convicts  himself. 

From  Batavia,  we  coasted  to  Tagal,  the  very  capital 
of  pestilence,  and  court  of  death.  Then  we  went  to 
Samarang,  a  neater  city,  but  neither  are  noted  in  my 
journal.  I  can  only  tell  you,  therefore,  that  dry  docks 
are  cut  in  the  bank  of  the  river,  ships  floated  in,  the 
entrance  dammed  up  with  mud,  and  the  water  bailed 
out  with  buckets.  Here  a  crazy  Dutch  oliieer,  luflfer- 
ing  under  a  stroke  of  the  sun,  which  had  baked  his 
brains,  carried  me  to  prison,  but  I  was  soon  released. 

There  I  saw  the  instruments  that  are  used  to  arrest 
those,  who,  under  the  excitement  of  opium,  passion, 
and  the  sun,  sally  out,  attacking  with  the  creese  every 
one  they  meet.  This  is  called  running  a  muck.  The 
instruments  are  a  sort  of  forceps,  with  long  handles 
large  enough  to  grasp  a  man,  strong  enough  to  hold 
him,  and  rough  enough  with  spikes,  to  restrain  his 
struggles. 

Surabaya  is  a  pleasant  town,  and  more  healthy  than 
the  last.     Here  we  saw  a  man  hung,  for  passing  his 


2^ 


^pipp 


40 


LETTERS    FROM    A    MARINER. 


creese  through  his  master's  body,  and  he  died  with 
com  oaure.  We  saw,  ton,  an  Englishman  with  u  cou- 
ple of  black  swans,  from  Van  Dieman's  land,  and  each 
vara  avis  comtnanded  a  hundred  dollars. 

I  have  other  notes  in  my  journal  concerning  Java, 
but  as  I  discover  in  a  Providence  paper,  that  a  '  broth- 
er sailor  '  is  cruising  in  the  same  seas,  I  would  not  run 
across  his  bows.  He  has  chosen  an  unjust  motto,  for 
his  '  Mariner's  Sketches '  are  not 

*  As  dry,  as  the  remainder  biscuit,  after  a  voyage.' 
Now,  Sir,  brush  up  your  imagination,  and  fancy  us 
approaching  the  coast  of  China.  We  found  the  sea 
thnmged  with  boats,  among  which  we  sailtd  a  hundred 
and  fifty  miles,  keeping  away  for  some,  and  for  others 
luffing  to.  These  frail  barks  are  the  only  home  of 
thousands  of  families.  Hundreds  and  thousands  are 
yearly  lost,  but  what  is  such  a  deduction  from  the  count- 
less population  of  China. 

We  anchored  in  vhe  Macao  Roads,  and  the  captain 
landed  to  got  a  chop  and  pilot  for  Whampoa.  Macao 
is  still  held  by  iiie  Portu<»uese,  that  is,  as  Chappequid- 
dick  is  held  by  the  Indians.  The  houses  are  white, 
and  at  a  distance  the  city  looks  well;  but  the  delusion 
vanishes  with  the  di^^tance,  like  the  respect  rendered  to 
rank,  or  the  devotion  paid  to  beaut;'  Whampoa  is 
seventy  five  miles  above  this,  and  thirteen  below  Canton; 
yet  we  were  five  days  in  ascending,  for  when  there  was 
no  calm  the  wind  was  contrary  as  a  queen.  We  went 
up  principally  in  one  night.  It  was  dark,  and  we  were 
running  eight  knots;  two  pilots  and  the  watch  were 
looking  out,  yet  we  ran  down  a  boat  with  a  family.  A 
fearful  shriek  from  many  voices,  was  our  first  intimation 
that  a  boat  was  near,  for  had  there  been  a  light  it  might 
have  been  saved.     The  pilot  ran  aft  with  terror  in  his 


LETTERS  FROM  A  MARINER. 


41 


looks,  saying,  *  Hi-yah  no  can  talkee,  suppose  Manda- 
rin Sabc,  he  chop,  chop, — cut  off  head.'  On  our  arri- 
val at  Whampoa,  two  of  the  Company's  vessels  saluted 
us  with  Yankee  Doodle,  and  Von  Weber  himself  never 
made  such  a  tune. 


NO.  X. 


Sir — Before  we  received  our  cargo,  news  arrived  by 
a  fast  sailing  cutter  from  the  United  States,  of  war  with 
Great  Britian.  I'he  ships  ready  for  sea,  slipped  away, 
but  before  our  preparations  were  made,  the  Doris  frigate 
(soon  joined  by  the  Phoenix)  kept  a  vigilant  eye  upon  the 
river.  Escape,  therefore  was  impossible,  and  our  situ- 
ation dismal;  for  no  solitude  is  so  hard  as  that  of  a 
populous  city,  and  no  confinement  so  irksome  as  that»in 
the  midst  of  bustle  and  activity.  Had  we  been  on  a 
desolate  coast,  with  the  freedom  of  the  shore  we  should 
have  been  better  pleased.  Having  therefore  dismantled 
the  ship,  we  erected  on  the  deck  a  house  of  bamboo,  so 
thickly  covered  with  mats,  that  the  rain  cou'd  not  enter. 

Though  I  was  many  months  at  Canton  my  opportunities 
for  remark  were  few,  for  I  was  generally  confined  with 
fever,  on  board,  or  at  lodgings  ;  and  owe  life  and  end- 
less gratitude  to  the  captain  for  his  paternal  care. 
While  I  was  on  board  there  was  an  inundation  greater 
than  had  ever  been  known ;  the  river  overflowed  its 
banks ;  and  it  was  estimated  that  ten  thousand  boats 
were  swept  away,  and  that  thirty  thousand  people  per- 
ished in  the  flood. 

Notwithstanding  the  war  between  the  nations  there 
was  no  hostility  between  the  English  and  Americans  at 
4* 


1 


w 


*    ! 


43 


LETTERS  PROM  A  MARINER. 


la  n 


Canton.  They  lived  together  as  brothers ;  the  English 
physicians  daily  visited  our  deck,  without  fee  or  other 
reward  than  the  satisfaction  of  doing  a  good  action* 
On  board  the  Marquis  of  Ely,  which  was  moored  near 
to  us,  there  was  an  excellent  band  of  music,  and  we 
often  visited  at  the  Marquis.  Our  cliiof  oflicer  was  not 
the  least  welcome  there,  for  he  had  wit,  an  irresistible 
laugii,  and  sung  a  good  song  ;  that  is,  he  sung  it  well. 
His  voice  however  was  too  .strong  for  the  cabin,  and 
when  his  songs  were  ended  the  gun  deck  rang  with  re- 
peated huzzas  from  two  hundred  men. 

We  had  been  several  months  at  Whampoaand  peace 
we  well  knew  was  distant.  Fever  and  confinement  had 
shattered  my  frame,  but  as  I  felt  that  any  state  is  better 
than  inactivity,  I  entered  an  English  ship,  to  work  my 
passage  to  London,  hoping  to  get  from  thence  a  con- 
veyance home.  I  had  little  money,  but  carried  a  draft 
on  Boston,  for  the  amount  of  my  wages.  However, 
li^e  the  vagabond  in  Goldsmith,  I  had  an  *  excellent 
knack  at  hoping,  '  for  the  future  always  looked  delight- 
ful, in  spite  of  the  experience  of  the  past.  1  felt  like 
Raleigh,  that  there  was  life  for  me  'while  the  sea  has 
pathless  waves.' 

Before  I  describe  the  voyage  to  England,  let  me 
commit  another  anachronism,  in  speaking  of  what  I  saw 
at  Canton,  at  a  different  period.  A  seaman  of  the  ship 
Emily,  of  Baltimore,  was  charged  with  the  murder  of  a 
Chinese  woman.  It  was  alleged  that  as  she  was  stand- 
ing in  a  boat  along  side,  he  threw  at  her  an  earthen  jar, 
which  hit  her  on  the  temple,  that  she  fell  into  the  water 
and  was  taken  out  dead.  A  great  many  people  collect- 
ed around  the  body,  on  shore,  and  the  excitement  was 
very  high.  After  much  palaver  it  was  agreed  that  the 
sailor  should  be  tried  jairhf  by  an  equal  number  of 
American  shipmasters,  and  Chinese  ofRcers,  and  if  found 


LETTERS  FR03I  A  MARiriER. 


43 


guilty,  given  up  for  pnnialiment.      The   viceroy,  there- 
fore, issued  orders  for  the  trial  to  be  held  on  board.    The 
Rev.  ]Mr  jMorrison  was  not  allowed  to  interpret,  because 
he  was  attached  to  the  legation  of  a  foreign  power.    The 
ship  was  prepared  for  the   solemnity,  the  prisoner  coi- 
fined  in  the  cabin,  the  arms  removed,  and  the  crew  rang- 
ed on  the  forecastle.     Eight  Hong  merchants  were  pre- 
sent.    Houqua,  Moq»ia,  Gowqua,  Chonqua,  Puanqua, 
Kingqua,  Pacqiui,  and'Conscqua.     The  Ponue,  (mag- 
istrate) then  came  on  board,  and  Pac(jua  and  Tom  (Cou- 
qua)  who  secures  the  ships,   fell  on  their  knees  to  hear 
his  commands  ;  of  whicii  the  American  Committee  could 
get  no  explanation.     It  was  required  that  the  prisoner 
should  look  the  Ponue  in  the  face.     The  jar  was  placed 
on  the  tiib'.t,   and  also  the    hat   worn  by  the   deceased. 
When  asked  if  he   recognised   the  jar  the   prisoner  re- 
plied tliat  it  was  the  same  which  he  had  handed  to  the 
deceased,   that  it  might  be  filled   with  fruit.     The    Po- 
nue was  irritated   at  this  explanation  and  the  interpre- 
ter, though    repeatedly   urged,    did  not    translate    half 
that  was  said,  in  defence,  being  interrupted  by  the   Po- 
nue, who   culled  the   Chinese  witnesses,  saying  that  all 
he  wanted  of  the  prisoner,  was  a  confession  that  he  was 
trading  witii  the  deceased,  and  that  this  was  his  jar.     It 
was  evident  that   he   had  prejudged  his  victim.     Hew- 
ever,  the  Americans  yielded  not,  but  insisted  on  the  ex- 
amination   of  their  own  witnesses.     They  consented, 
howevev,  Lhat  the  Chinese  testimony  might  be  heard,  in 
the  full  faith  that  their  own  would    follow.     The  first 
witnesses  were  the  husband  of  the  deceased,  two  chil- 
dren, and  a  woman.     They  crawled  towards  the  magis- 
trate on  their  hands  and  knees,  not  daring  to  raise  their 
eyes  from  the  deck.     The   woman  could  not  point  out 
the  prisoner,  though  no  other  sailor  was  near,  until  the 
interpreter  laid  his  hand  upon  him.     She  then  gave  a 


VP 


44 


LETTERS  FROM  A  MARINER. 


I; 


long  account  of  the  affair,  in  which  she  was  prompted 
by  the  eldest  child.  This  was  stated  to  the  interpreter, 
but  he  V  ould  not  explain  it,  nor  was  t!ie  woman  who 
spoke  English,  allowed  to  use  that  language. 

The  committee  them  conjured  Houqua  to  give  a  faith- 
ful accomit  of  what  they  should  say,  and  it  was  shown 
from  what  the  woman  admitted  of  the  position  of  the 
boats,  that  the  ship  was  between  them,  and  that  there- 
fore, she  could  not  have  seen  the  occurrence.  More- 
over, it  was  proved  that  the  same  woman  had  said  to 
four  Americans,  that  she  did  not  see  the  affair.  The  in- 
struments of  torture  were  produced,  but  she  persisted  in 
her  story,  saying  that  then  she  told  the  truth,  though 
before  she  had  uttered  a  lie.  We  called  witnesses  to 
testify  that  the  hat  of  the  deceased  was  broken  not  by 
the  prisoner,  but  by  the  husband,  when  the  '  upright 
judge,'  rose  in  anger,  saying  that  he  could  see  for  him- 
self that  the  jar  fitted  the  hole  in  the  hat,  and  that  the 
jar  belonged  to  the  man,  who  must  be  given  up. 

The  reply  was,  that  other  things  may  have  caused 
the  woman's  death.  She  may  have  slipped,  or  the  hus- 
band may  have  killed  her  ;  and,  moreover,  we  have  a 
witness  to  prove  that  the  piisoner  handed  the  jar  Id'  the 
deceased,  who  took  it.  For  this  mockery  of  a  trial,  we 
will  not  give  up  the  man,  and  if  you  take  him,  we  will 
consider  it  violence  and  strike  our  flag. 

The  Ponue  replied  that  it  was  Heaven's  business, 
and  that  if  he  judged  wrong,  the  Lord  would  avenge  it, 
but  that  he  felt  that  the  prisoner  was  guilty.  He  dared 
not,  however,  take  him  away,  but  retired  to  consult 
the  Viceroy. 

After  several  days,  the  seaman  was  taken  by  the  Chi- 
nese authorities;  another  day  was  appointed  for  a  fur- 
ther trial  at  the  Cansoo  House,  and  permission  given 
for  friends  to  appear  in  defence.     The  poor  sailor,  con- 


LETTERS   FROM    A    MARINER. 


46 


scions  of  innocence,  and  little  drennriing  of  danger,  was 
as  calm  us  ever,  but  not  a  friend  appeared.  Peihaps 
no  defence  would  have  availed,  but  this  cannot  justify 
the  neglect  of  his  contrymen.  A  few  noble  Englishmen 
who  endeavoured  to  gain  admittance,  were  driven  back. 
Questions  were  put  to  the  prisoner,  and  his  answers 
misinterpreted  into  a  confession  of  guilt;  and  he  was 
withdrawn  amid  the  fury  of  the  populace,  to  a  death  of 
torture,  rendered  doubly  bitte**  by  the  desertion  of  his 
countrymen.     Shame  !  shame  !  shame! 

I  have  extracted  this  account  that  you  may  see  the 
state  of  the  judiciary  in  China.  No  life  is  safe,  and  I 
suppose  that  this  Ponue  is  in  as  much  peril  from  a  high- 
er officer,  as  the  prisoner  before  himself.  The  stream 
of  justice  is  poisoned  at  the  source.  The  terror  of  the 
interpreter,  and  the  prostration  ofthe  bodies,  as  well  as 
the  consciences  ofthe  witnesses,  show  the  tremendous 
power  ofthe  judge. 


NO.  XI. 


Sir — As  I  lived  chiefly  on  Canton  River,  that  only 
can  I  describe.  A  thousand  islands  are  sprinkled  at 
the  entrance,  which  made  the  navigation  difficult,  till  the 
Company  ordered  an  excellent  chart.  Yet  it  is  neces- 
sary to  take  a  pilot  at  Lintin  island,  eighteen  miles  above 
Macao,  where,  though  the  river  is  ten  miles  wide,  the 
channel  is  narrow.  At  the  Tiger's  Mouth,  thirty  five 
miles  above,  the  river  narrows  to  three  quarters  of  a 
mile,  and  might  be  commanded  by  suitable  forts.  The 
Chinese  forts  are  low,  and  have  perhaps  an  hundred 
guns,  but  could  hardly  arrest  the  progress  of  a  frigate 


71 


46 


LETTERS   FROM    A   MARINER. 


Wlinmpoa  which  is  on  a  low  inlan*!,  iM  ahnost  in- 
unrhitod  in  heavy  rains.  The  houses^  are  huddle*!  togeth- 
er, andtlie  streets  filhd  with  mud  and  filth. 

The  approach  to  Canton  is  indicated  hy  ten  thou- 
sand boats,  for  hero  '  there  are  land  thieves  and  water 
thieves.'  Some  boats  that  bring  down  the  tea,  ate  two 
hundred  feet  long.  They  are  kept  very  neat,  and  re- 
semble the  canal  boats  of  Europe.  I3ut  of  all  the  craft 
that  floats  on  the  river  or  elsewhere  the  stranj;est  is  the 
junk.  It  is  sometimes  of  a  thousand  tons,  and  carries 
five  hundred  men,  There  is  one  principal  mast  stand- 
ing between  two  smaller  oncs^and  on  this  is  hoisted  a 
huge  sail  of  malting  and  twisted  bamboo.  The  smaller 
masts  are  used  principally  to  disjjlay  the  broad  and  gaudy 
flags.  A  pair  ol\;yes  is  painted  on  the  bows  of  all  ves- 
sels, and  in  a  junk  the  ^lim  is  as  large  as  a  hogshead. 
The  sterns  are  adorned  with  figures  of  beasts,  birds,  and 
serpents. 

A  mile  below  the  Factories,  is  a  ruin  called  the  Dutch 
Folly,  though  if  the  legend  be  true,  IMynheer  was  more 
knave  than  fool.  The  Dutch,  it  is  said,  obtame<l  permission 
to  build  a  hospital,  but  erected  a  fort,  and  were  carrying 
ashore  in  hogsheads,  their  guns,  calling  them  provisions, 
when  one  cannon  broke  through  and  tumbled  into  the 
river.  '  Hi-yah,  how  can  sick  man  eat  gun,' said  the 
Chinese  and  the  Dutch  were  detected  too  soon  to  profit 
by  their  trick. 

Foreigners  are  limited  to  the  suburbs,  and  it  is  not 
safe  to  go  far  from  the  Factories.  That  part  near  to 
the  Factories  is  very  neat  :  the  shops  are  convenient, 
and  make  a  great  display.  It  was  a  few  years  ago  de- 
stroyed by  fire,  yet  the  damage  was  as  soon  repaired  as 
the  breach  of  an  ant-hill,  and  sUch  is  the  horror  of  a 
Chinese  at  innovation,  it  was  rebuilt  exactly  as  it  stood 
before. 


LETTERS    FROM   A    MARINER. 


47 


ovisioris. 


It  was  my  fortimo  to  be  nt  Canton  when  about  forty 
captuitis    and  otlicr^,  English  (ind   Anicricaii,  made  a 
res|)ectrul  remonstrance  to  the  viceroy,  on  various  points 
ofgricvaiicct  and  exaction.   The  ()rincipal  comphiint  was 
of  the  j)rice  of  a  boat  to  JVIacao,  which  often  cost  from 
cigiit  hundred  to    a  thousand  dollars,  and  the   remon- 
strants determined  to  deliver  their   address  themselves. 
I  also  thrust  myself  among  them,   and   having  fortified 
our  resolution  by  a  collation,  wc  marched  out  in  pairs, 
headed  by  a  Parsee,  who  knew  the  avenues,  and  lan- 
guage.    We  walked    swiftly    and    silently,  and    having 
passed  through  many  streets,  to  me  unknown,  came  sud- 
denly to  the  city  gate.     This  was  open,  but  forty  paces 
inward,    was    a  small  wicker  gate    where  two  soldiers 
kept  guard.     We  rushed  on,  but  they  closed  the  do(>rs, 
and  without  violence  we  could  advance  no  fart'ier.  They 
gave  the  alarm,   calling  out    Fun^y  qui  !  and  we  were 
soon  surrounded  by  an  immense  concourse,  whose  long 
tails  and  smooth  shaven  crowns,  were  exceedingly  gro- 
tesque.    A  mandarin  came  to  ask  our  wants,   but  we 
made  no  other  parley  than  thfit  we  must  see  his  master. 
Another  came,  but  the   Parsee    who  knew  his  grade 
from  his  cap,  refused  to  comnumicate;   and  next  came 
he  whom  we  desired  to  see.     He  sent  for  Houqua,  and 
the  poor  old  soul  came  more  dead  than  alive;  his  teeth 
chattering   like  castanets.     He   entreated  us  to  return 
from  the  gate;,  hut  we  refused  to  go  without  a  promise 
that   our    address   should    be  delivered.     The  promise 
was  given,  but  the  next  day  the  address  was  returned 
to  us  without  reply.     This  was  all  that  I  had  to  do  in 
this  strange  embassy,  but  the  party  made   a  second  at- 
tempt to  eater  the  city,   and  succeeded.     They  were 
lucky  enough  to  rush  in  before  the  gates  could  be  clos- 
ed.    The  Parsee  who  led,  remarked  that  one  sentinel 
ran  away,,  and  as  he  supposed,  to  the  viceroy's  palace. 


wm 


4» 


LETTERS   PROM    A   MARIN  RR. 


Him  they  followed,  though  he  ran  so  fast  that  his  stream- 
er was  horizontal  as  a  weathercock.  They  entered  the 
court-yard  of  the  palace,  and  were  surrounded  hy  sol- 
diers. They  listened  to  a  long  lecture  seasoned  with 
threats,  and  were  then  conducted  back.  Many  of  the 
wrongs,  however,  were  ^-edressed,  and  a  boat  may  now 
be  had  to  Macao  for  forty  dollars. 

Before  I  quit  the  Chinese  seas,  let  me  extract  from  the 
journal  of  another  voyage,  an  account  of  our  perilous  sit- 
uation at  Manilla.   We  were  riding  in  the  bay  in  fifleen 
fathom  water,  with  a  small  bower  and  chain  anchor  out, 
when  the  weather  changed  in  an  instant,  and  all  hands 
were  called  to  get  down  the  royal  )^ards  and  masts.  At  5 
o'clock,  A.   M.  she   went  adrift,  and  we   gave  her  a 
scope  of  sixty  fathom  cable,  which  did  not  bring  her  up, 
and  the  gale  was  freshening  every  moment.     The  ship 
drifted  a  n>ile  an  hour,  lying  in  the  trough  of  a  danger- 
ous sea.    We  could  not,  with  safety,  drop  our  best  bow- 
er anchor,  unless  we  could  bring  head  to  the  wind;  for, 
as  she  then  lay,  had  we  let  go  the   starboard  anchor, 
the  vessel  on  swinging    round,    would    have    brought 
a  cross  in  the  cables,  with  the   chain  above  the  hemp; 
and  the  hitter  would  have  been  at  once  worn  off.     We 
cut  away  the  spars  in  the  fore  part  of  the  ship,  but  it  did 
not  bring  her  head  to  the  wind.     There  was  now  a  hur- 
ricane forcing  the  ship  nearly  on  her  beam  ends^  and 
the  weat'ier  so  thick  that  we  could  not  see  ten  yards. 
The  barometer  fell   to   twentynine  inches,    and  every 
thing  wore  an   appalling  look.     Yet  though  it   was  a 
time  of  terror,  we  omitted  to  do  notliing  tiiat  might  save 
us. 

We  cleared  the  shoal  of  Saint  Nicholas,  and  were 
driving  to  the  southeast  shore  of  the  bay,  when  sound- 
ings, within  a  few  minutes,  changed  f-om  fifteen  to  ten 
fathoms,  and  to   muddy  water.     As  the  last  resource. 


i      I 


LETTERS   FROM    A   MARINER. 


49 


we  let  go  the  sheet  anchor,  which,  with  the  advantage 
of  a  long  scope,  and  good  holding  ground,  brought  her 
up;  but  with  a  cross  in  the  cables  that  we  feared  would 
cause  our  destruction.  Our  ship  was  of  the  strongest, 
for  not  one  in  five  could  have  sustained  so  long  the  fury 
of  such  winds  and  waves.  To  ease  the  cables  we  cut 
away  two  of  the  masts,  and  the  axe  was  about  to  fall  up- 
on the  third,  when  the  wind  shifled  in  a  moment,  blowing 
offshore,  and  producing  a  smoother  sea.    ' 

But  before  this,  the  ship  in  plunging  bow  to  the  sea, 
brought  up,  on  the  chain  cable,  with  such  violence,  as 
to  capsize  the  >vindlass,  part  the  deck  stoppers,  and  ter: 
the  nipper  up  from  abaft;  though  it  was  secured  to  the 
deck  by  bolts  passing  through  the  beams.  It  was  car- 
ried forward,  wedged  under  the  windlass,  forcing  up  the 
bitts,  and  the  c.ibles  would  have  been  lost  had  they  not 
been  cienclied  to  the  mainmast. 


NO.  XII. 

Sir — Now  suppose  me  (in  spite  of  the  last  anachron- 
ism) on  board  a  Company's  ship,  working  passage  to 
London.  There  was  a  large  fleet,  under  convoy  of  the 
Doris  and  Phoenix  frigates.  We  loft  the  river  in  gallant 
styiej  and  on  the  next  day  the  Doris  returned,  having 
sailed  in  the  fleet  merely  to  decoy  the  Am-^ricans  to 
sea.  Our  ship,  being  u  fast  sailer,  was  ordered  by  the 
Commodore  to  look  out,  and  it  was  a  iabori' us  duty  for 
the  crew;  for  by  day  we  had  to  press  all  sail  aheid  of 
the  fleet,  and  return  to  it  at  night.    . 

On  the  sixteenth  day  we  entered  the  Straits  of  Banca, 
between  the  island  of  that  name  and  Sumatra.  In  Ban- 
ca there  are  tin  mines,  that  belong  to  the  Dutch,  and 


WP^W 


mt 


£0 


LETTERS    FROM    A    MARINER. 


) 


l*         i-i 


immense  quantities  of  the  metal  are  exported  to  China, 
and  other  countries.  The  coast  of  Sumatra  is  here  so 
low,  that  the  first  indication  you  have  of  land  is  the 
sight  of  trees. 

We  anchored  off  Auger,  and  when  we  were  again 
under  sail,  the  commander  charged  the  crew  at  large 
with  having  stolen  six  dozen  fowls  j  and  as  no  one  would 
peach,  or  confess,  the  grog  of  the  whole  was  stopped 
till  we  should  reach  Saint  Helena.  But  there  was  not 
half  that  number  of  fowls  taken  in  at  Auger,  and  the 
charge  of  the  captain  was  but  a  trick  to  withhold  the 
alcohol.  I  had  been  told  before  we  sailed,  that  he  was 
not  distinguished  for  gentleness  to  inferiors,  and  at  sea 
I  had  daily  evidence  of  the  fact.  I  did  not  feel  quiet, 
for  I  might  do  wrong  or  he  might  believe  that  I  did, 
and  with  him  punishment  did  not  always  delay  for  con- 
viction. But  I  had  the  good  fortune  to  please.  One 
day,  when  the  captain  was  looking  at  the  sail-maker's 
gang,  I  saw  his  eye  resting  upon  me,  and  plied  the  nee- 
dle fast;  he  condescended  to  ask  after  my  health,  and  to 
direct  the  purser  to  receive  my  name  to  the  articles;  by 
which  I  hfi''  full  seaman's  wages,  two  pounds  five  shil- 
lings a  month. 

Our  ship  was  very  large,  as  all  ships  of  the  Honora- 
ble Company  are.  None  are  of  less  than  twelve  hun- 
dred tons,  and  some  are  of  more  than  fifteen  hundred 
tons  measurement.  Wo  carried  twentyfour  thousand 
chests  of  tea,  besides  other  goods,  mounted  thirt}^^two 
eighteen  pounders,  and  mustered  one  hundred  and  six- 
tyfive  men,  for  so  were  they  called,  as  we  rank  with 
dogs, 

'  Mongrel,  puppy,  whelp,  and  houurl, 
And  curs  of  low  degree.' 

We  had  Frenchmen,  Spaniards,  Dutchmen,  Russians, 
Danes,  Swedes,  Greeks,  Prussians,  Yankees,  Portu- 
guese, Italians,  Creoles,  and  Chinese. 


LETTERS  FROM  A  MARINER. 


51 


This  formidable  band  were  exercised  daily  at  the  guns; 
but  I  little  doubted  that  a  Baltimore  privateer  of  sixteen 
guns,  could  give  me  a  passage  home  in  a  prize  ship. 

On  Sundays,  all  hands  were  assembled  early,  by  the 
tolling  of  the  bell,  and  gathered  to  hear  the  service,  un- 
der an  awning  on  the  quarter  deck;  and  wo  betided  him 
who  came  late,  unshaven,  or  without  a  clean  shirt. 

One  of  the  crew,  a  poor  young  Portuguese,  was  draw- 
ing near  his  end,  and  as  his  memory  wandered  back  to 
the  vineyards  of  Oporto,  he  longed  for  a  taste  of  their 
wines;  a  little  of  which  the  surgeon  requested  for  him 
of  the  captain.  *  Port  wine!  Doctor,  (said  the  Bashaw,) 
when  you  know  there  is  hardly  enough  for  my  own 
table  ?' 

Wo  rounded  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  with  a  good 
breeze,  and  here  the  crew  were  again  assembled  to  re- 
ceive threats  for  general  neglect  of  duty:  but  no  promi- 
ses were  made  in  case  of  our  doing  well,  whence  I  sup- 
posed ii  i  be  more  agreeable  to  our  commander  to  pun- 
ish than  to  reward. 

At  Saint  Helena,  the-  fleet  anchored  Jamestown, 
but  we  could  get  no  water  foi  four  days,  as  'he  Bombay 
and  Bengal  fleets  were  to  be  first  served. 

The  confinement  of  that  wonderful  man,  Napolcci' 
has  made  Saint  Helena  too  well  known  for  me  to  de- 
scribe it.  When  the  signal  fdr  sailing  was  made,  our 
anchor,  of  sixtyfive  hundred  weight,  came  up  to  the 
bows  like  a  collier's,  and  ours  was  the  first,  among  fifty 
ships,  that  had  head  to  the  northwest.  This  elicited 
from  the  second  oflicer  the  only  civil  speech  he  was  ever 
known  to  make — *  Hurrah,  my  boys,  for  Old  England.' 
This,  however,  was  his  last  offence  against  dignity  and 
suUenness,  and  he  seemed  to  be  ashamed  of  having  been 
betrayed  into  a  momentary  good  humour.  He  was, 
however,  a  man  of  his  word,  for  he  never  threatened  ft 


52 


LETTERS    FROM   A    MARINER. 


sailor  with  a  drubbing,  without  a  faithful,  that  is,  a  full 
performance. 

We  Had  a  good  run  across  the  equator,  though  the 
voyage  was  much  retarded  by  the  dull  sailers  in  the 
fleet.  Near  to  Corvo,  the  man  at  the  mast  head  gav  > 
notice  of  two  strange  sail,  bearing  down  upoi:  us,  froiii 
the  island.  We  wore  sailing  in  three  columns,  each 
headed  by  a  frigate,  and  the  Commodore  was  slow  to  be- 
lieve that  an  American  privateer  would  look  in  the  face 
of  such  a  force.  The  two  sails  obtained  a  position 
ahead  of  us,  and  lingered  till  wc  were  within  four 
miles,  when  they  ran  up  the  American  flag,  and  filled 
away,  one  going  sea-ward,  and  the  other  tacking  for 
the  islands.  Two  frigates  were  instantly  under  a  press 
of  sail  in  pursuit  of  one  of  the  fugitives,  and  the  first 
was  soon  so  near  as  to  open  a  running  fire  from  the  bow 
guns.  I  was  congratulated  on  the  prospect  of  having 
my  countrymen  to  sup  with  me,  for  all  pretended  to 
think  it  over  with  Jonathan.  But  I  knew  the  gentleman 
better;  for  he  shot  across  his  enemy's  bow,  bringing 
her  close  in  a  wind,  and  the  frigates  returned  without  a 
prize. 

On  the  5th  of  August  we  saw  the  Lizard  Point.  We 
steered  up  channel  with  every  sail  spread;  and  it  was  a 
brave  sight  to  see  the  fleet  sweeping  along,  so  deeply 
laden  with  the  riches  of  the  East.  A  richer^  it  was  said, 
never  came  round  the  Cape 

On  the  latter  part  of  the  voyage,  I  tumbled  twenty 
feet,  struck  upon  the  muzzle  of  a  gun,  and  was  carried 
away  like  Hotspur  on  the  stage.  I  soon  recovered 
and  was  satisfied,  for  once,  to  have  so  hard  a  head. 

In  the  Dover  Roads  the  convoy  left  us,  and  every 
ship  went  to  London  as  her  commander  preferred.  The 
jack  tars  were  in  lofty  spirits,  for  the  ages  of  a  long 
voyage  were  due,  and  there  was  at  that  time  no  danger 
of  impressment. 


i      / 


1  l\ 


LETTERS   FROM    A    MARINER. 


58 


The  confusion  that  followed  the  mooring  of  the  ship 
is  not  to  be  described.  AH  discipline  was  ended,  and 
hammocks,  chests,  and  bags,  obstructed  every  passage. 
The  Jews,  who  had  successfully  studied  the  nature  of  a 
sailor,  came  on  board  with  liquors,  fruits,  and  other  re- 
freshments. These  they  dispensed  with  a  liberal  hand, 
but  with  no  charitable  intent.  They  knew  that  the  road 
to  a  sailor's  heart  lay  directly  over  his  palate.  Now  ut 
sea  I  had  often  heard  the  sailors  speak  evil  of  the  Jews, 
and  resolve  to  have  no  further  dealing  with  the  tribes: 
yet  when  a  bottle  of  gin  was  decanted,  the  Israelites 
were  viewed  through  a  more  favorable  medium,  and  in 
three  days  the  current  coin  of  the  sailors  was  in  He- 
brew hands. 

I  went  up  in  one  of  the  Gravesend  boats,  which  land- 
ed me  at  Billingsgate,  where  the  English  language  is 
spoken  in  great  purity. 

What  some  traveller  says  of  Lisbon,  is  tiue  also  of 
London  at  Billingsgate — that  it  has  a  double  advantage 
over  cities  that  attract  only  the  eye  of  a  traveller:  for  it 
takes  his  attention  also  by  the  nose. 

I  put  my  goods  on  the  back  of  a  porter,  who  could 
carry  as  much  as  a  camel,  and  trot  ofll*  with  it  as  fast. 
I  ran  .after  him,  for  a  prudent  general  has  always  an  eye 
to  the  baggage.  In  my  haste,-!  stepped  upon  the  fish 
that  a  young  lady  was  assorting  into  heaps.  She  seiz- 
ed an  eel  that  v,as  yet  alive,  which  she  applied  to  my 
shoulder  as  I  retreated,  calling  me  at  the  same  time  the 
son  of  a  dog's  wife.  I  overtook  the  dromedary  as  he 
entered  the  Pig  and  Gridiron.  He  demanded  a  crown, 
and  I  was  foolish  enough  to  give  him  half;  but  the  fe- 
rocious water  nymph  had  bewildered  my  intellect. 

I  then  took  to  the  streets,  and  as  I  was  staring  at  a 
caricature  of  a  Yankee,  at  a  print-shop,  was  tapped  on 
the  back  by  a  midshipman  of  the  Indiaman,  who  asked 
6* 


54 


LETTERS    FROM    A   MARINER. 


me  to  dine  at  his  sister's,  in  Shoreditch.  I  could  never 
refuse  a  friend  so  reasonable  a  request,  and  went  with 
him  where  I  found  a  good  dinner,  partook,  and  was 
thankful.  He  then  carried  me  to  Leadenhall  street, 
where  I  found  several  friends  whom  I  had  known  ia 
Canton,  and  where  I  engaged  pasturage  at  a  guinea  a 
week. 


■    ) 


\        NO.  XIII 

Sir — At  our  boarding  house  I  found  a  young  Ameri- 
can named  White,  an  excellent  fellow,  seated  at  table, 
with  a  segar  and  pot  of  beer;  an  emblem  of  content- 
ment, though  money  was  low  in  his  pocket.  We  agreed 
to  blend  our  present  means  and  to  unite  our  future  for- 
tunes. At  first,  we  were  to  spend  our  money  in  ex- 
ploring London,  and  in  examining  what  was  curious  and 
rare,  supposing  that  we  could,  at  any  time,  find  employ- 
ment in  another  ship.  Herein  we  took  of  the  future  lit- 
tle heed;  like  that  idle  animal  which  hangs  upon  a  tree 
till  it  has  eaten  every  green  leaf,  when  it  tumbles  down, 
hardly  able,  under  its  exhaustion,  to  ascend  again. 

In  one  of  our  early  rambles,  coming  to  the  Serpentine 
River,  we  saw  a  fleet  of  small  ships,  that  had  been  rig- 
ged for  the  amusement  of  Royalty. .  They  were  of  about 
fourteen  tons  each,  and  completely  manned  and  armed. 
On  some  gala  days  they  represented  two  squadrons,  un- 
der the  British  and  American  ensign.  Mock  battles 
were  fought,  in  which,  I  suppose,  the  British  flag  was 
never  struck. 

By  the  last  of  August  we  had  seen  something  of  Lon- 
don, and  such  a  reduction  had  been  made  in  our  funds, 


LETTERS   FROM   A    MARINER. 


55 


that  we  began  to  jjjtimk  of  ways  and  means.  Wc  there- 
fore went  to  Mr  Bcaseley's  office,  but  the  Consul  was 
absent.  The  clerks  advised  a  voyage  to  the  West  In- 
dies, as  only  prisoners  of  war  could  be  sent  home  at  the 
public  expense. 

On  the  fourth  day  of  our  search  after  employment, 
we  found  a  ship  for  Bermuda,  and  agreed  to  work  on 
board  at  the  river  price,  2s.  6d.  and  a  dinner,  per  diem. 
We  had  given  so  much  ^o  watermen,  in  searching  for  a 
vessel,  that  we  were  reduced  to  that  doubtful  friend,  the 
last  shilling;  and  something  formidable  was  due  to  our 
landlord.  Our  first  financial  operation,  therefore,  was 
to  leave  articles  with  a  pawn  broker,  worth  twenty  dol- 
lars, on  which  we  raised  16s.  6d.  Being  in  funds  again, 
we  boldly  resolved  to  begin  the  day  with  breakfast,  and 
visited  the  stall  of  an  old  woman  who  sold  coffee,  bread, 
and  butter;  but  before  taking  the  dainties,  we  were  con- 
siderate enough  to  ask  the  damage,  and  learned  with  plea- 
sure that  we  could  make  a  good  breakfast  for  two  pence. 
We  labored  for  the  day  on  board,  and  returned  to  sleep 
on  shore,  but  with  an  appetite  like  a  crocodile's.  To 
sup  at  an  eating  house  would  have  been  death;  but  we 
feasted  magnificently  in  the  street,  upon  a  loaf,  and  two 
.smoked  herrings.  Af\er  this  independent  meal,  we 
marched  into  a  beer  house,  and  called  for  a  pint,  with 
as  much  confidence  as  if  we  had  been  *  dipped  in  Pac- 
tolus.'  ^ 

This  course  we  followed  for  ten  days,  but  were  not 
elated  to  learn  that  we  were  not  to  bo  paid  till  the  ship 
arrived  at  Gravesend.  Now,  being  able,  we  were  anx- 
ious to  redeem  our  chattels,  and  had  the  mate's  permis- 
sion to  go.  We  called  at  the  Captain's  house,  for  which 
civility  he  expressed  less  pleasure  than  surprise,  and 
asked  whence  we  came,  and  what  wo  wanted  .'  Wc  re- 
vealed as  much  of  our  history  as  related  to  the  paivn- 


56 


LETTERS   FROM    K    MARINER. 


broker,  vhen  he  launched  out  forty  shillings,  the  amount 
due  for  wages. 

He  advised  ns  to  make  haste,  lest  we  should  be  too 
late  to  intercept  the  ship  at  Gravesend,  We  ivcre  too 
late,  and  the  vessel  sailed  without  us;  but  we  had  forty 
shillings  in  bank,  and  began  to  feel  the  insolence  of 
wealth.  But  it  was  too  good  to  last,  though  wc  were  as 
economical  as  the  State  Legislature.  On  the  seventh  day 
after  the  sailing  of  the  ship,  we  had  Is,  6d.  in  the  funds, 
and  we  supped  for  sixpence  each,  with  a  poetical  indif- 
ference to  the  future.  In  the  morning,  there  seemed  no 
resource;  when,  in  the  nick  of  time,  we  found  a  ship, 
and  gave  notice  to  our  countrymen,  one  of  whom,  an  old 
Triton,  wa«  appointed  boatswain.  But  the  old  luck  was 
near,  and  we  had  to  shog,  i  s  the  vessel  could  not  be 
cleared  with  any  American  sailors.  Our  resentment 
kept  up  our  spirits,  and  in  good  time.  White  recollected 
that,  at  his  former  lodging,  he  hud  a  Kodiac  cloak,  and 
a  few  shells,  from  the  Sandwich  islands.  These  we  car- 
ried to  Exeter  'Change,  where  there  was  a  cabi- 
net of  curiosities.  A  lady  named  Phipps,  and  her 
daughter,  were  tlie  attendants.  The  kind  lady  seemed 
to  feel  an  interest  in  our  adventures,  calling  us  her  chil- 
dren, and  giving  ten  shillings  for  our  merchandize; 
though,  as  she  had  belter  specimens,  we  knew  that  the 
money  was  given  in  charity.  Those  excellent  people 
conducted  us  through  the  muscurrtf  and  when  we  were 
about  to  go,  asked  us  to  drink  their  health  in  a  glass  of 
wine,  and  we  were  not  rude  enough  to  refuse. 

We  were  now  in  affluent  circumstances — thanks  to 
those  who  bought  our  goods,  and  whose  sex  I  would 
eulogize,  if  I  could,  after  the  manner  of  Lcdyard.  For- 
tune now  began  to  favor  us,  and  sent  us  to  an  honest 
collier,  who  carried  a  good  heart  under  a  soiled  jerkin. 
He  was  bound  fjr  Ostend,  and  permitted  us  to  r/ork  th« 


LETTERS    FROM    A    MARK"  ER. 


57 


passage.  We  went  af^er  our  chests  with  light  hearts; 
but  that  we  might  pay  a  poiter  for  their  carriage,  we 
had  such  dealings  with  a  pawn-broker  as  diminished 
their  weight;  they  grew  lighter  under  the  operation,  like 
Falstaff  walking  up  Gadshill.  At  night,  I  could  find  no 
shelter  but  a  small  scuttle  in  the  forecastle,  where  the 
coals  had  settled  down. 

At  Ostend  we  thought  our  cares  were  over,  when  we 
saw  a  cutter  about  to  sail  with  despatches;  but  the  mas- 
ter was  absent,  and  the  people  would  not  receive  us  on 
board.  This  looked  like  old  times,  and  we  went  to 
a  Scotchman  who  had  acted  as  American  Consul.  He 
told  us,  in  his  peculiarly  agreeable  way,  that  he  could 
do  nothing  for  us,  but  advised  us  to  make  tracks  towards 
Ghent;  we  expressed  no  gratitude  for  the  counsel,  but 
discharged,  in  a  few  words,  some  misanthropy  that  had 
begun  to  gather  about  our  hearts,  and  left  Sir  Mungo 
Malagrowther,  in  better  spirits  than  we  had  lately  felt. 

My  comrade  sold  his  chest,  and  we  lashed  on  our 
packs,  and  set  off,  looking  like  peddling  Jews,  for  Bru- 
ges. Having  walked  four  hotirs,  we  stopped  at  a  neat 
farm  house,  to  get  a  drink  of  beer;  but  having  no  know- 
ledge of  a  sign  to  denote  beer,  we  received  milk,  and 
money  was  refused  in  payment,  I  never  before  saw 
neatness  carried  to  such  extremes  as  in  this  cottage; 
every  metallic  utensil  shone  like  gold,  and  the  floors 
were  white  as  scrubbing  could  make  them. 

The  streets  of  Bruges  we  found  narrow  and  ill  paved; 
and  where  in  Boston  there  is  a  side  walk,  there  is  in 
Bruges  a  gutter.  In  the  centre  of  the  town  was  a 
square,  where  there  was  a  drill  of  raw  troops.  On  one 
side  the  square  is  a  grand  cathedral,  which  we  entered, 
and  ascended  a  flight  of  steps;  hereupon  a  man  ap- 
proached, and  intimated  that  our  further  advance  de- 
pended upon  our  liberality.     Wi  had  no  money  for  such 


!»!?! 


w 

v 


.   58 


LETTERS    FROM    A    MARINER. 


f 


vanities,  but  offered  the  smallest  copper  coin,  which  tho 
man  took,  adcr  ho  had  made  a  mouth  at  it,  and  admit- 
ted us  to  see  a  large  organ  and  clock.  We  then  ascend- 
ed to  the  dome  of  the  church,  where  there  was  abound- 
less  prospect  of  the  level  country.  Here  there  were 
fortynine  bells,  and,  thank  Fortune!  none  of  them  were 
struck  during  our  visit. 

The  charge  for  supper  was  so  light,  that  we  took  pas- 
sage in  a  trecJcschwjl  for  Ghent.  This  conveyance  ia 
safer  than  by  steam,  but  it  is  miserably  slow,  though 
well  adapted  to  the  genius  of  a  Dutchman,  who  is  sel- 
dom in  a  hurry  and  never  in  a  passion.  He  is  as  im- 
passive as  Outalissa — a  stoic  of  the  canals. 

We  arrived  by  sunset  at  Ghent,  when  fifty  bold  and 
ragged  boys  made  a  plunge  at  the  baggage.  Two  of 
them  made  a  simultaneous  seizure  of  mine,  struggling 
for  it  like  two  dogs  for  a  bone,  or  like  the  Arabs  for  the 
absolute  possession  of  Captain  Riley,  I  did  not  know 
enough  Dutch  to  express  myself  in  words,  but  I  rapped 
them  over  the  knuckles,  and  they  took  my  meaning. 

Arrived  at  the  ministei^'s  house,  we  entered  as  if  we 
had  come  to  our  own  home.  We  expressed  to  the  ser- 
vant our  desire  to  have  an  immediate  interview  with  the 
plenipotentiaries.  He,  seeing  that  we  were  Americans, 
and  perhaps  taking  us  for  diplomatists  in  disguise,  led  ua 
to  Mr  Adams,  who  took  us  by  the  hand,  as  if  we  had 
been  old  friends,  long  parted.  It  was  the  republican 
grip,  that  we  had  not  felt  for  many  a  day. 

He  then  asked  us  what  we  wanted,  and  having  satis- 
fied this  natural  curinoity,  wc  were  told  that  we  should 
be  sent  home;  for,  said  he,  civilly,  the  country  has  occa- 
sion for  service  from  lads  like  you.  We  had  high  life 
in  the  kitchen,  till  the  other  ministers  returned  from  an 
excursion,  when  we  were  sent  with  a  letter  to  Captain 
Jones,  at  Antwerp,  a  hundred  miles. 


LETTERS   FROM   A    MARINER. 


50 


NO.  XIV. 


Sjr — On  our  departure,  the  gentlemen  of  the  kitch«n 
gave  us  dinner  at  a  tavern,  and  at  four  o'clock,  having 
stuffed  our  pack  with  cold  provisions,  they  accompanied 
us  to  the  gates.  Here  we  went  'nto  an  alehouse  and 
charitably  drank  '  misfortune  tc  our  cnenjies.'  The 
Bun  was  near  setting  and  the  sky  threatened  rain.  It 
soon  fell  and  we  passed  on  wet  and  weary,  in  the  belief 
that  we  had  lost  our  way.  At  length  wc  saw  a  light 
ahead,  and  it  encouraged  us  as  much  as  the  sight  of 
land  cheered  Columbus.  The  first  house  had  the  sign 
of  an  inn,  and  we  entered  with  little  ceremony.  A 
pretty  young  woman  who  was  knitting  at  a  side  table, 
started  with  astonishment,  for  we  were  covered  with 
white  rnud;  and  an  old  boor,  who  was  sitting  over  a 
turf  fire,  smoking  his  eternal  pipe,  raised  his  spectacles 
to  his  nose,  and  surveyed  us  with  attention. 

The  young  woman  could  speak  French,  and  asked 
my  comrade  what  tongue  it  was  in  which  we  conversed  j 
and  being  told  that  we  were  Americans,  expressed  her 
surprise  that  our  skins  were  so  white,  and  our  hair  so 
little  curled. 

When  wi  arrived  at  Antwerp,  we  saw  the  American 
ensign  on  a  ship  in  the  river,  and  we  hailed  and  request- 
ed a  boat.  The  steward  furnished  a  good  breakfast, 
after  which  the  captain  sent  a  message  forward,  re- 
questing the  pleasure  of  our  company  in  the  cabin. 
This  civility  boded  no  good,  and  the  commander  in- 
formed us  that  we  must  go  to  Amsterdam,  where  a  ves- 
sel was  fitting  out,  and  he  gave  us  money  enough  for 
the  journey,  with  a  letter  to  the  Consul.  It  was. the 
fortune  of  war,  as  a  great  man  says  when  he  is  van- 
quished, and  we  set  off  to  try  one  port  after  another, 


sssamKfTwm 


«0 


LETTERS    FROM    A    MARINER. 


I 


for  a  pasfiage  home,  as  Vanderdockcn  boards  the  ships 
about  the  Cape,  to  send  his  letters. 

My  comrade  was  nil  life  and  spirits,  and  I  believe 
would  have  been  glad  to  bo  sent  in  this  manner  to  eve- 
ry port  in  Europe.  Wo  went  off  lighter  than  before, 
ibr  we  sent  our  baggage  by  the  Dilij^cncef  addressed  to 
the  Consul.  •    '  . 

It  was  about  nine  o'clock,  when  we  passed  the  east- 
em  gate;  the  roads  were  good  and  the  air  was  clear. 
At  eleven  we  stopped  under  a  shade  and  commenced 
an  intimacy  with  the  steward's  beef,  and  thought  that 
if  the  state  of  the  world  permitted,  we  should  like  to 
wander  about  in  it,  like  Sancho  and  his  master,  in 
search  of  adventures;  especially  of  such  as  occurred 
at  Camacho's  wedding.  A  pleasing  young  woman  now 
passed  us;  she  was  about  twenty  years  of  age,  having  a 
handkerchief  only  on  her  head,  and  a  small  bundle  in 
her  hand,  and  with  such  an  air  of  dejection  as  excited 
our  curiosity. 

The  roads  here  were  singularly  pleasant,  being  shad- 
ed with  venerable  elms,  whose  branches  are  so  inter- 
Jocked  as  to  form  a  perfect  shelter,  and  the  road  so 
level  and  straight,  that  nothing  intercepted  the  sight  till 
they  seemed  to  terminate  in  a  point. 

On  this  walk,  my  companion  entertained  nie  with 
■omc  of  the  adventures  of  his  life,  and  they  were  so 
numerous  and  strange,  that  my  own,  in  comparison, 
■eem  to  have  little  incident.        V 

We  approached  a  woman  and  child,  covered  with 
tatters;  to  them  we  poured  out  the  whole  contents  of 
the  wallet,  and  lefl  them  eating  after  the  manner  of 
those  who  eat  seldom. 

Wo  next  overtook  the  young  woman  who  had  passed 
us  while  v/e  were  resting;  and  my  companion,  by  means 
of  his  French  and  some  German,  entered  into  conver- 


LETTERS    FROM    A    MARIN F.R. 


61 


sation.  She  belonged  to  a  town  in  Germany,  distant 
four  hundred  miles.  Her  husband  was  a  conscript  in 
the  army  of  Russia,  and  as  she  !i)<d  heard  that  his  regi- 
ment had  been  disbanded  in  Antwerp,  thither  she  trav- 
elled to  get  some  tidings  of  him,  but  in  vain.  Her 
story  aflected  us  so  much  that  we  offered  half  the 
money  we  had  to  help  her  homewards,  but  she  would 
not  take  it.  But  though  the  pilgrim  of  fidelity  refused 
our  coin,  she  offered  us  many  thanks.  We  gave  her 
little  encouragement  that  she  could  find  her  husband; 
he  was  probably  slain  '  at  that  great  battle  under  the 
walls  of  Moscow,'  or  hunger,  cold,  or  the  Cossacks, 
destroyed  him  in  the  retreat. 

In  the  morning  we  walked  to  Breda,  rapidly,  for  the 
weather  was  cold,  as  the  season  was  the  middle  of  Oc- 
tober. On  our  entrance  to  the  city,  we  were  assailed 
'oy  half  a  dozen  Sergeant  Kites,  who  desired  to  enlist  us 
in  the  army  of  the  Prmce  of  Orange,  offering  present 
pay  and  future  glory.  We  refused  the  terms,  but  one 
of  the  recruiting  officers  had  the  goodness  to  *'ko  us 
to  the  canal  boats,  engage  for  us  a  passage  to  Dort, 
and  settle  the  price  with  the  skipper.  We  laid  in  a 
provision  of  bread  and  cheese,  and  went  off  with  a 
breeze  at  the  rate  of  five  miles  an  hour;  when  the 
breeze  failed,  a  horse  carried  us  off  at  that  snail-like 
pace  so  congenial  with  the  operations  of  a  Dutchman's 
intellect. 

We  passed  directly  through  Dort,  and  had  a  breeze 
again  for  Rotterdam.  But  we  quitted  the  boat  for  a 
good  road  and  arrived  by  night  at  the  .outskirts  of  Delft, 
a  considerable  town.  We  took  the  liberty  to  ask  an 
idle  soldier,  if  there  were  in  Delft,  any  houses  where 
travellers  were  fed  and  lodged  for  money,  and  he  re- 
plied that  there  was  one  which  he  would  have  the  honor 
to  show  us.  He  left  us  at  the  dtor,  upon  which  we 
6 


62 


LETTERS    FROM    A    MARINER. 


: 


I  r 


knocked  long  and  loud,  and  at  the  seventh  peal,  a  weazle- 
faced  man  came  and  asked  what  we  wanted,  and  on 
being  informed,  requested  us  to  quit  his  premises.  I 
admit  that  our  appearance  was  not  at  all  in  our  favor, 
but  lodgings  were  necessary  and  supper  desirable.  We 
next  went  into  a  butcher's  shop,  and  asked  to  be  direcled 
to  lodgings,  when  a  young  man,  who  was  buying  a  beef- 
steak for  his  supper,  said  he  would  take  us  to  a  house 
where  we  sh  juld  lodge  like  the  Prince  of  Orange, 
which  was  all  that  we  could  reasonably  require.  After 
passing  many  alleys  too  narrow  for  a  jackass  with  pan- 
niers, we  arrived  at  the  princely  lodgings.  An  old 
woman,  who  looked  much  like  a  witch,  requested  that 
we  ^^  ould  be  seated,  and  in  complying  with  her  request, 
I  wedged  myself  into  a  bottomless  chair,  in  the  posture 
of  a  chicken  trussed  for.  the  spit.  The  witch  apologised 
for  the  state  of  her  furniture,  and  gave  me  the  joint 
stool.  She  further  told  us  that  she  had  nothing  better 
to  drink  than  buttermilk,  of  which  we  took  a  hearty 
swig,  and  gave  her  money  to  get  something  of  more 
substance  for  supper. 

In  a  dark  corner,  we  discovered  an  old  Frenchman, 
rendered  blind  and  deaf  by  age,  smokinj,  with  much 
satisfaction  a  pipe  two  inches  long.  He  was  ninetyfive 
years  old^  had  been  absent  forty  years  from  France, 
whiuii  liC  3tni  hoped  to  see  again,  and  we  pleased  him 
by  saying  that  his  hopes  were  reasonable. 

Wo  had  a  sumptuous  meal  of  beefsteaks  and  hot  po- 
tatoes, and  requested  leave  to  take  possession  of  our 
lodgings.  The  old  woman  b 'ought  a  ladder,  which  she 
placed  against  tho  ceiling  overhead,  and  ascended 
through  a  scuttle,  desiring  us  to  follow.  Our  supper 
had  made  us  bold  and  we  did  follow,  into  such  a  lofl  as 
Sancho  never  occupied  in  his  hardest  fortunes.  Our 
(ippcarance  and  poverty  we  thought  a  sufHcient  protec- 


h 


LETTERS   FROM   A   MARINER. 


es 


tion,  though  we  had  some  misgivings  when  we  heard 
the  trap  door  bolted  afler  us;  but  fatigue  and  sleep 
overpowered  us,  and  late  in  the  morning,  the  sun  shin- 
ing in  our  faces  interrupted  our  slumbers. 

We  started  with  new  vigor  for  Amsterdam,  distant 
twenty  five  miles,  and  before  we  had  gone  half  the  dis- 
tance, discovered  the  elevated  spires  of  the  city.  The 
ccimtry  through  which  we  passed  was  exceedingly  fer- 
tile, and  cultivated  like  a  garden.  Six  miles  from  the 
city,  we  passed  a  large  open  field  with  immense  herds 
of  c^ttle,  the  largest  I  had  ever  seen;  every  one  of 
them  covered  with  a  white  linen  garment,  and  this  was 
the  first  time  I  ever  saw  an  ox  with  a  shirt  on. 

The  Consul  at  Amsterdam  did  not  receive  us  with 
smiles,  nor  did  he  bestow  any  thanks  upon  Captain 
Jones,  or  the  ministers  at  Ghent,  for  the  honor  of  our 
acquaintance.  However,  he  bade  us  find  board  and 
lodging  at  five  guilders,  (two  dollars)  for  that  he  would 
not  give  a  stiver  more.  We  were  received  at  a  decent 
house  for  ?cven  guilders;  and  as  I  was  standing  at  the 
door  I  beheld  the  young  German  woman  of  whom  I 
made  mention  as  having  sought  her  husband  at  Antwerp, 
and  whom  we  saw  last  near  Breda. 

On  seeing  us  she  stopped  and  began  to  weep  bitterly. 
We  comforted  her  as  well  as  we  could,  and  she  told  us 
that  she  had  been  robbed  of  all  the  money  she  had  in 
the  world,  and  that  she  had  nothing  to  rely  upon  but 
the  cold  charity  of  the  inhabitants  on  the  road,  which 
would  never  carry  her  home.  The  good  woman  of  the 
house  called  her  in,  to  offer  a  supply  of  bread  and 
cheese,  and  my  comrade  who  carried  the  nurse,  gave 
her  full  half  the  contents,  and  the  whole  would  not  have 
igiade  her  rich.  She  departed  in  better  spirits,  and  with 
renewed  hopes  of  reaching  her  home. 


'** 


ii 


64 


LETTERS   FROM   A    MARINER. 


I 


At  the  end  of  the  week,  our  landlady,  in  her  best 
attire,  and  it  would  have  made  you  laugh  to  behold  it, 
went  to  the  Consul  for  payment.  She  >vas  dismissed 
without  money  or  ceremony,  but  on  reflection,  she  sent 
her  son  and  daughter  to  carry  the  bill  again,  when  it 
\/as  paid,  for  the  son  was  pertinacious  and  the  daughter 
pretty.  But  the  Consul  directed  us  to  find  lodging  4 
elsewhere,  at  five  guilders,  and  we  were  obliged  to  live 
in  a  cellar,  where  we  fed  principally  on  cabbage.  At 
this  time  wo  were  employed  in  making  ready  for  sea  a 
small  schooner,  which  we  rigged  completely,  and  bal- 
lasted with  pigs  of  cast  iron. 

At  Christmas,  the  ice  was  so  thick  that  the  whole 

population  was  out  in  sledges  and  with  skates.     The 

ladies  were  excellent  skaters,  passing  along  as  a  scholar 

might  say,  with  the  swiftness  of  Camilla — 

'  When  like  a  passing  thought  she  fled 
In  light  away.' 

There  was  at  this  time  a  Dutch  ship  in  the  harbor, 
whose  master  was  of  Philadelphia,  living  on  board  with 
his  wife  and  family.  He  had  sometimes  employed  me 
in  his  vessel,  and  to  him  I  applied  to  raise  a  small  sum 
by  pledging  the  draft  I  had  received  for  wages  in  Can- 
ton. The  draft  he  would  not  take  from  me,  and  I  re- 
quired of  him  but  fifteen  guilders.  '  Give  him  twenty,' 
said  his  kind  hearted  wife,  which  he  immediately  offered, 
and  in  so  friendly  a  way,  that  he  made  me  doubly  oblig- 
ed to  him. 

The  news  of  peace  between  the  United  States  and 
Great  Britain,  was  received  with  joyful  acclamations  at 
Amsterdam;  and  the  old  Dutchmen  grinned  with  de- 
light at  the  prospect  of  good  tobacco,  for  lately, 
they  had  smoked  inferior  qualities,  and  at  enormous 
prices.  ' 


"w^'-.^t-v^y.'^a^Wtf 


LETTERS   FROM    ▲   MARINER. 


65 


As  I  was  about  to  sail,  I  received  a  message  from 
the  friend  that  had  lent  mo  the  guilders,  who  had  found 
me  a  situation  as  chief  officer,  on  board  a  brig  under 
the  Norway  flag,  bound  for  Philadelphia.  We  had  a 
prosperous  passage  home,  and  it  was  a  joyful  sight  to 
me  to  behold  the  sandy  shore  of  Cape  Henlopen. 

And  now.  Sir,  take  out  your  wipe,  which  the  vulgar 
call  handkerchief,  and  get  an  onion,  for  this  is  the  last 
Letter  of  the  Mariner. 

i- 


■  '    .  > 


'"tli 


■ill 

'■  ' 


6* 


mm 


•T" 


TRAVELS  OF  A  TIN  PEDLAR, 


It    I 


NO.  I.  /  •      -      •    • 

Mr  Editor — It  is  a  good  thing  for  New  England 
that  all  her  .-.ons  can  read,  and  it  is  a  better  thing  for 
the  Galaxy,  that  some  of  them  can  also  write.  Thanks 
to  my  genius,  and  to  an  old  lady  in  horn  rimmed  specta- 
cles, I  can  do  something  in  either  way.  This,  however, 
I  say  from  no  wish  to  mortify  you  or  others,  who  are 
less  indebted  to  nature  and  fortune.  JVbn  omnia  oppos- 
um  us  omnes,  as  my  old  schoolmaster  said  upon  all  oc- 
casions; whence  I  conclude  that  it  has  a  general  appli- 
cation, and  is  proper  to  be  quoted  now. 

I,  my  son,  (excuse  familiarity,  for  I  am  a  kind  scul), 
am  as  well  acquainted  with  every  nook  in  New  Eng- 
land, as  you  are  learned  in  the  avenues  of  Boston. 
There  is  not  a  village  where  I  am  not  known,  or  a  se- 
cluded farm  house  where  I  am  a  stranger;  and  few  are 
the  dogs  that  growl  at  Jonathan  Farbink.  From  mj 
manner  of  life,  I  have  formed,  like  Wordsworth,  a  social 
attachment  to  inanimate  objects  :  I  honor  Mount  Hol- 
yoke,  and  reverence  the  White  Mountains.  There  are 
streams  that  I  love  more  than  the  old  heathens  loved 


TRAVELS  QF  A  TIN  PEDLAR. 


67 


Arethuse,  and  many  unnamed  and  unknown  springs, 
that  gush  from  the  rocks,  I  rank  above  the  fountains  of 
Bandusia,  and  Vaucluse.  Green  River,  though  I  have 
not  seen  it,  I  love,  inasmuch  as  I  admire  and  honor  Mr 
Bryant.  But  in  my  circumgyrations,  which  is  a  tough 
word  for  wanderings,  I  take  an  especial  delight  in  pass- 
ing a  school  house ;  counting  '  that  day  lost,'  when  I  do 
not  see  one.  I  always  stop  a  moment  to  question  fhe 
white  headed  boys  upon  their  studies,  and  to  offer  a  bit 
of  candy,  (for  in  that  also  I  deal,)  to  the  damsels.  It 
shakes  from  my  round  shoulders,  twenty  hard  years  to 
be  thus  employed  in  front  of  a  red  school  house  ;  for  I 
seem  at  the  moment,  to  be  a  chubby  urchin,  laden  with 
bread  and  cheese,  toiling  for  the  head  of  the  class,  and 
blushing  at  my  own  honors,  and  the  praises  of  the 
master. 

The  place  where  I  first  opened  to  light  and  literature 
a  pair  of  small  grey  eyes,  was  a  small  village  near  the 
Cape.  In  early  youth,  before  I  had  dropped  the  Ro- 
man costume  that  children  wear,  and  assumed  the  bar- 
bai'um  legmen,  of  Tacitus,  I  had  displayed  a  marvellous 
taste  for  letters:  and  to  this  day  I  remember  the  intellec- 
tual pleasure  with  which  I  acquired  the  alphabet;  which 
course  of  study,  like  Scriberus,  I  ate  through  in  gin- 
gerbread. I  am  told  that  the  law  furnishes  a  similar 
train  of  education  at  Lincoln's  Inn.  From  my  instruc- 
tress, however,  I  concealed  my  facility  in  acquiring, 
well  knowing  that  the  alphabet  once  over,  there  was  to 
spelling  no  royal  road,  any  more  than  to  geometry. 

The  time  passed  at  school,  was  from  my  tenth  to  my 
eighteenth  year.  If  you  ask  if  I  loved  the  school  house, 
I  must  task  my  candor,  to  say  that  I  had  a  preference 
for  thf,  .v^.dsand  fields,  and  formed  a  thousand  truant 
like  •.  .i '  uses  ;  the  most  successful  of  which  was  the  pre- 
tence   f  colic,  then  called  by  another  name.    Often  was 


n 


■^ffn»^^ii"»5Sii|»F'PiPKW"'»«W*!W^^Wi*"«f»"W"^^ 


mm 


68 


TRAVELS   OF   A   TIN   PEDLAR. 


I  i 


l''S 


i  \ 


\  -l 


i  / 


I  found  loitering  by  the  thickets,  paddhng  in  the  stream, 
building  dams  like  a  beaver,  or  fashioning  in  the  high- 
way, cakes  and  loaves  of  mud.  But  in  eight  years, 
hope  and  fear,  ambition  and  the  birch,  gave  me  the 
character  of  a  scholar,  who  knew  little  less  than  the 
master,  and  he  was  famed  for  knowledge  round  the 
country  side.  As  I  have  preserved  every  *  reward  of 
merit,'  I  can  show  my  character  as  a  scholar,  by  many 
documents  higher  in  authority  than  this  that  I  am  pen- 
ning. In  the  latter  part  of  my  pupilage,  I  was  as  is 
said  of  a  bishop,  translated  to  an  academy,  where  I  read 
JEsop,  Corderius,  and  other  classic  authors,  in  the  ori- 
ginal Latin.  But  in  reading  the  Roman  poets,  my  pre- 
cious religion,  (like  the  profane  soldier's)  was  in  danger. 
I  was  ready  to  admit  the  truth  of  what  I  heard  at  church, 
but  I  could  not  feel  it;  yet  there  was  not  a  gorgeous 
cloud,  where  I  could  not  see  some  trace  of  the  majesty 
of  Juno,  and  in  every  wood,  I  expected  to  be  met  by 
Venus,  ntida  genu,  or  Diana  more  closely  robed.  But 
all  scholars  are  heathen,  and  need  conversion  as  much 
as  the  natives  of  distant  islands. 

At  tliis  venerable  academy,  love  soon  came  to  the 
confusion  of  Latin:  Aurora  Hemlock  had  a  name,  that 
would  have  charmed  me,  heathen  as  I  was,  had  I  been 
blind;  but  her  eyes  carried  me  away  into  a  long  captiv- 
ity. Her  desk  was  opposite  to  mine,  and  we  had  soon 
a  correspondence  other  than  that  of  the  eyes.  Letters 
and  replies  passed  between  us,  couched  in  language  as 
elevated,  as  we  thought  our  sentiments  required.  But 
that  Argus,  old  Dusty  wig,  who  knew  nothing  of  love, 
and  tolerated  no  romance,  laid  upon  our  letters  his 
huge  unhallowed  paw.  These,  he  compelled  us  to  read 
to  the  whole  school  ;  and  never  before,  did  I  read  with 
so  ill  a  grace.  But  to  see  how  a  writer  may  err  in  the 
estimate  of  his  powers  !     What  I  had  written  seriously, 


Mt 


TRAVELS   OF    A   TIN    PEDLAR. 


69 


!  to  the 


seemed  to  have  a  mine  of  comic  humor;  producing  peals 
of  laughter  in  all,  and  in  some,  such  convulsions  of  mer- 
riment, that  they  rolled  upon  the  fl  .or. 

You  express  your  surprise  and  regret  as  to  the  hum- 
ble vocation  that  I  have  long  and  gainfully  followed;  but 
the  '  choice  of  life,'  was  with  Rasselas,  long  debated 
and  never  concluded;  and  who  was  Rasselas  but  John- 
son. In  this  choice,  it  is  better  to  decide  erroneously, 
than  to  make  no  decision.  My  youthful  limits  were 
wider  than  the  unJiappy  valley  of  Rasselas,  but  my  de- 
sire amounted  to  a  passion,  to  see  men  and  things  be- 
yond: and  the  gratification  of  this  passionate  desire  de- 
pended upon  some  re  spectable  and  locomotive  employ- 
ment. It  is  hard  to  decide,  '  when  doctors  disagree; ' 
but  my  decision  war/  prompt,  as  none  such  were  admitted 
to  the  consultation.  The  old  schoolmaster  affirmed 
that  I  had  talent,  ani  hoped  to  see  me  a  lawyer;  but  I . 
preferred  to  be  a  pedl.ir  of  tin,  rather  than  a  vender  of 
brass. 

One  of  the  earliest  books  that  I  had  loved  to  read, 
was  Memoirs,  purporting  to  be  of  Edward  Montague, 
son  to  '  Lady  Mary,'  who  at  an  early  age,  ran  away 
from  school,  entered  himself  an  apprentice  to  a  chimney 
sweeper,  and  afterwards  broke  his  indentures,  to  wander 
in  the  south  of  Europe  reaping  a  rich  harvest  of  novel 
impressions,  and  acquiring,  like  Fielding,  a  profound 
knowledge  of  the  two  kinds  of  life. 

My  travels,  you  ask;  but  though  they  have  been 
pleasant  to  me  in  the  performance,  to  you  they  will  in 
the  recital  be  dull.  The  last  excursion  was  to  Ver- 
mont, and  I  set  off'  with  a  wagon  covered  with  roasters. 
The  first  night  arrested  me  at  Concord,  that  venerable 
town  that  you  must  have  heard  of,  and  may  have  seen. 
It  was  in  the  canicular,  or  dog  days,  and  the  weather 
was  w£i|pi;  a  few  faint  sounds  had  broken  the  enerva- 


^^1 


II 


>  rl 


,1 


'■■'  ! 


» 

!|1 


70 


TRAVELS    OP    A   TIN   PEDLAR. 


ting  stillness  of  the  day;  such  as  the  chirp  of  a  locust, 
or  the  melancholy  croak  of  some  exhausted  frog.  I 
slept  with  three  other  sinners,  and  the  publican  thought 
that  the  bed  would  accommodate  a  fiflh.  If  his  own 
conscience  reproach  him  not,  neither  do  I,  though  in  a 
case  like  this,  forgiveness  rises  to  the  dignity  of  a  sub- 
lime action.  "     - 

Let  us  skip  to  Windsor  :  It  has  no  castle  or  park 
that  I  know  of,  yet  it  is  a  charming  place.  From  this  I 
plunged  into  a  shady  road  that  wound  around  one  of  the 
highest  of  the  green  mountains  ;  and,  like  Sancho, 
turned  my  beast  loose  to  crop  the  herbage,  while  I  my- 
self mused  and  meditated,  after  the  manner  of  the  Don. 
A  rivulet  was  near  of  pellucid  waters,  a  little  ruffled 
by  the  wind:  casting  my  eyes  into  a  bend  of  the  stream, 
in  search  of  a  trout,  (many  have  I  tickled),  I  beheld  an 
object  l!hat  struck  me  aghast ;  the  bodyof  an  infant  ly- 
ing on  its  back,  with  its  legs  drawn  up  in  an  easy  attitude, 
and  it  little  arms  folded  on  its  breast.  The  water  was 
slightly  agitated,  and  communicated  its  own 'motion  to 
the  body.  Near  it  lay  a  huge  eel,  that  had  perhaps  fed 
upon  the  child.  I  will  never  taste  an  eel  again.  In 
breathless  haste  I  returned  to  the  hotel,  and  called  for  a 
cogue  and  a  coroner.  My  dismay  communicated  itself 
to  the  officer;  but  with  a  long  pole  he  put  the  eel  to 
flight,  and  raised  to  the  bank  the  body  of  a — bull-frog, 
of  eigteen  inches  !  I  forswear,  soup  forever.  Were  I 
to  live  in  France  a  thousand  years,  and  the  last  remnant 
of  a  city  besieged,  I  would  as  soon  turn  Cannibal  as 
taste  a  frog. 

What  is  the  truth  of  history,  when  things  before  my 
own  eyes,  are  thus  perverted  by  the  imagination  ?  Fro- 
issart,  I  shall  never  again  open  with  pleasure;  his  his- 
tory may  be  true,  but  what  can  I  trust,  after  having  call- 
ed the  coroner  to  an  inquest  upon  a  frog.  pJ .  F. 


if 


■1 


TRAVELS    OF    A    TIN    PEDLAR. 


71 


NO.    II. 


*  crowner's 


Sir — At  the  dinner  which  followed  the 
quest,'  there  was  a  beautiful  girl  waiting  on  the  pedlar. 
I  informed  her,  that  in  the  Bay  State,  it  is  the  privilege 
and  practice  of  a  traveller  to  kiss  the  cook,  when  the 
dinner  is  good,  and  attempted  to  introduce  the  rite  into 
Vermont;  but  she  repulsed  me,  and  retired  with  the  dis- 
dain of  a  beauty,  and  the  majesty  of  a  queen.  In  a  mo- 
ment, entered  a  strapping  negro,  fat  and  ferocious,  giv- 
ing me  to  know  that  she  herself  was  the  cook;  and  I 
bought  her  immediate  absence  with  a  pistareen.  I  re- 
tired, and  hauled  up  in  front  of  a  cotton  factory,  having 
*  no  admittance '  chalked  in  a  cn-ooked  line  upon  the 
door.  On  the  question  that  agitates  the  surface  of  so- 
ciety, I  have  nothing  to  say:  in  manufactories  I  have 
no  interest,  and  of  them,  little  knowledge.  I  am  frank, 
and  confess  poverty  and  ignorance  in  a  breath.  Igno- 
rance is  a  misfortune,  but  poverty  is  (at  least  in  cities) 
a  crime:  yet  to  diminish  the  misfortune,  I  boldly  entered 
the  door  with  the  prohibitory  motto,  and  endeavoured  to 
wear  so  easy  an  air,  that  no  one  would  doubt  my  right 
of  ingress.  An  impudent  fellow  may  counterfeit  mo- 
desty, but  it  is  harder,  as  poor  Marlow  found,  for  modes- 
ty to  assume  the  guise  of  impudence. 

At  the  entrance  I  was  stunned  with  horrid  and  inex- 
plicable sounds;  yet  the  confusion  was  not  like  that  of 
Babel,  for  in  it  the  human  voice  had  no  part.  Placing 
myself  in  an  obscure  corner,  I  looked  down  "upon  ma- 
chinery of  a  beautiful  simplicity,  attended  by  females  of 
a  similar  description.  At  this  stage  of  my  reflections, 
an  ill-looking  agent  espied  me,  and  after  desiring  to  be 
informed  what  I  would  please  to  have,  (confound  his 
civility,)  intimated  the  propriety  of  my  walking  down 


frl 


1 1 


72 


TRAVELS    OF    A    TIN    PEDLAR. 


stairs;  when  I  retreated,  like  a  lion  from  the  hunters,  or 
like  Ney  from  Russia. 

These  Green  Mountain  boys  are  generally  sharpers, 
but  uivided  into  many  classes:  horse  thieves  are  the 
most  respected,  and  hold  the  highest  offices,  being  com- 
monly sent  to  the  legislature:  counterfeiters  are  more 
esteemed  near  the  Canadas,  though  rogues  of  humbler 
kind,  and  of  all  descriptions,  find  everywhere  a  welcome 
and  a  home.  Where  such  are  exalted,  honesty  must  be 
a  reproach,  and  few  men  I  found  that  deserved  it.  Na- 
ture, however,  with  her  usual  benevolence,  has  provid- 
ed for  the  safety  of  the  honest  traveller — who  is  gene- 
rally a  tin  pedlar — by  having  stamped  upon  these  Ver- 
montese,  an  outward  stamp  of  the  inward  man;  for  their 
faces  show  a  mixture  \)f  the  fox  n'd  wolf.  Their  moral 
courage  exceeds  their  physical,  ibr  though  they  dare 
not  face  an  enemy,  they  are  yet  bold  enough  to  tell  a 
lie.  I  have  never  loved  them,  since  I  was  ejected  from 
the  cotton  factory. 

I  recrossedthe  river  at  a  ferry,  and  travelled  leisurely 
to  Hanover,  the  seat  of  the  college,  and  perhaps,  of 
the  Muses;  though  Parnassus  has  no  representative 
nearer  than  Monadnock.  At  the  college,  I  sold  three 
tinder  boxes,  and  a  dozen  lamps.  Among  the  students, 
I  found  five  punsters,  and  one  Penobscot  Indian — 
'  His  blanket  tied  with  yellow  strings.' 

Then  I  went  over  to  Norwich,  and  sold  to  the  cadets 
three  dozen  of  Knapp's  blacking ;  but  no  one  asked  for 
a  lamp.  Handsome  fellows,  are  the  cadets:  the  stu- 
dents at  Hanover  have,  in  comparison,  but  a  sneaking 
gait,  like  that  of  a  person  coming  late  into  church,  or 
like  my  own  manner  of  walking  away  from  the  Mos- 
quito factory.  The  students  are  thought  to  be  good  at 
an  argument,  but  the  cadets  are  better  at  a  knock;  the 
former  prefer  the  *  smell  of  the  lamp '  to  that  of  nitre, 


TRAVELS    OF    A    TIN    PEDLAR. 


73 


aiid  would  sooner  stake  themselves  oa  the  horns  of  a 
dilemma,  than  on  the  spikes  of  an  abatis.  The  ultima 
ralioy  (as  my  old  schoolmaster  said  when  he  flogged, 
and  that  not  tenderly)  would  turn  in  favor  of  the  cadets. 

Among  the  military  youths  I  saw  not  one  deformed 
leg;  but  among  the  students  there  were  many  cripples. 
The  sagacious  farmer  keeps  at  home  his  strong  and  well 
formed  ofl'spring,  to  walk  between  the  handles  of  the 
plough,  and  whistle  in  the  furrow;  but  his  children  less 
indebted  to  nature  he  sends  to  Dartmouth;  yet  the  lord 
of  his  library  has  a  less  fruitful  domain,  than  the  lord  of 
the  soil.         ,'>•-'«•  ^  ''      '       .  "  ' 

From  Norwich  I  went  to  Newbury,  over  roads  so 
dusty,  that  I  arrived  in  the  guise  of  a  miller.  On  the 
way,  (in  Fairlee,)  I  passed  under  overhanging  clifl^s 
that  threatened  extinguishment;  and  here  I  put  the  colt 
(for  so  I  have  calldd  my  beast  for  fifteen  years)  to  the 
top  of  his  speed.  The  cliiFs  reminded  me  of  what  I  luid 
rea'd  at  the  end  of  Johnson's  dictionary,  of  the  Tarpeian, 
and  the  rock  of  Leucate:  traitors  were  thrown  from  the 
one,  and  lovers  leaped  from  the  other;  but  for  him  who 
was  a  traitor  in  love,  there  seems  to  have  been  no  ade- 
quate punishment.  •  .  > 

At  Newbury,  the  hotel  is  large,  and  may  accommo- 
date three  hundred  guests,  allowing  but  three  to  a  bed: 
any  accommodations  were  thought  good  enough  (or  a 
tin  pedlar,  and  I  was  lodged  in  the  garret,  where  the 
bed  vermin  charged  upon  me  in  battalions.  I  soon  ab- 
dicated the  sheets,  for  the  softest  plank  in  the  floor,  so 
that  bed  and  board  were  convertible  terms.  But  I  be- 
came nervous;  for,  though  I  am  not  an  instrument,  or 
thing  to  be  played  upon,  yet  am  I  sometimes  out  of  tune. 
But  at  last,  sleep  descended  upon  my  eyelids,  and,  in 
my  dreams,  I  was  on  an  island,  shaded  with  palms,  in  a 
sea  abounding  with  turtle  and  clams.  Fruits  were  above, 
7 


M 


74 


TRAVKLS    or    A    TIN    PEDLAR. 


i| 


t 


^! 


and  flowers  beneath ;  on  ono  side  was  a  babbling  stream 
let,  and  a  murmuring  cherub  on  the  other.  But  a  yell, 
sharper  than  a  wnr-whoop,  broke  upon  my  slumbers; 
first  c»  me  a  long  and  wailing  note,  as  of  a  trumpet  on  a 
deserted  battle  field;  then  blended  sounds  of  rage  and 
pain,  such  as  only  two  fighting  cats,  or  demons,  could 
produce,  and  such  as  Rossini  could  not  survive.  I  dis- 
charged my  ire  upon  them  in  a  billet  of  wood,  which 
*  peppered  '  some  of  them.  '*  - 

Then  I  slept,  and  was  again  upon  my  tropical  island, 
but  everything  there  was  changed;  thistles  occupied 
the  place  of  flowers,  and  the  fruits  were  chokeberries 
and  crabs.  I  saw  a  track  in  the  sand,  and,  like  Crusoe, 
started  with  horror,  for  it  was  the  track  of  a  cat.  My 
cherub  companion  seemed  furred  to  the  eyes,  when  I 
would  have  taken  her  hand,  she  scratched  me,  and  when 
I  would  have  snatched  a  salute,  I  was  repulsed  by  an 
abatis  of  whiskers.  Then  I  was  all  at  once  a  mouse, 
and  what  is  worse,  I  had  no  hole  to  creep  into,  for  near 
me  was  an  enormous  cat,  whose  eye  was  fascination  to 
mine.  •        , 

I  was  roused  by  a  loud  and  confused  sound,  compos- 
ed of  many  discords;  it  was  a  simultaneous  opening  of 
every  sharp  key  in  the  human  bagpipe.  It  was  a  long 
anthem,  set  upon  a  single  note,  and  the  words  were 
'fire!  fire!  fire!'  I  smc/Ht,  or  what  wa«  worse,  thought 
I  smelt  it,  and  hurrying  on  my  clothes,  that  is,  thrusting 
my  leg  into  my  coat,  my  arm  into  my  trowsers,  I  has- 
tened to  the  house  top.  But  it  was  a  false  alarm,  and 
my  indignation  glowed  like  Lehigh  coal;  it  should  be  a 
felony,  to  raise  a  false  alarm. 

I  was  again  in  the  land  of  shadows,  and  upon  my  *  isle 
of  palms;'  in  the  centre  was  a  furnace,  like  a  glass-house, 
and  I  was  admitted  without  question  or  ticket.  It  was 
populous  with  idlers  and  operatives,  and  seemed  to  be 


h  ^ 


TRAlVELH   or    A    TIN    PEDLAH. 


76 


under  the  command  of  an  old  fellow  in  a  flame  colored 
suit  of  asbestos;  ho  was  horned  like  Capricornus,  and 
tailed  like  Taurus,  in  the  Almanack.  I  kept  open  an  eye 
for  a  retreat,  but  could  see  no  chance  for  an  exit. 
Things  began  to  look  suspicious;  it  was  no  place  fcr 
mirth;  but  I  soon  heard  music.  It  was  a  sound  that 
expressed  Uig  extremity  of  sorrow,  nungled  with  a  ten- 
der melancholy;  it  was  the  music  of  an  amateur  dog; 
and  I  humbly  request  the  owner  to  kill  the  performer. 
Ho  was  seated  at  the  gate,  looking  the  chaste  moon  im- 
pudently in  the  face,  and  howling  like  an  opera-singer. 
I  addressed  him  gently  by  his  christian  name,  but  h*^ 
regarded  me  not;  I  said  '  get  outj^  in  a  voice  of  thunder, 

•  But  still,  the  tlog  howled  on.' 
I  sou-ht  for  missiles,  but  all  except  the  fire  shovel  were 
exhausted  on  the  cats.  I  took  it,  and  suspended  it  as 
the  sword  over  Damocles,  above  this  disturber  of  the 
public  peace  and  slumbers;  it  dropped  like  the  guillo- 
tine, but  not  upon  the  criminal's  head;  for  in  the  morn- 
ing the  ostler  brought  the  tail  of  a  dog,  a  yard  in  length, 
and  at  noon  I  saw  poor  Ponto  ruefully  licking  the  stump. 
Having  been  unjustly  used  in  respect  to  my  lodging, 
I  received  amends  in  the  sale  of  a  tin  oven,  that  would 
not  stand  fire.  If  you.  Sir,  desire  cf  me  a  better  fabric, 
I  will  warrant  it  of  the  best;  and  if  it  be  your  further 
pleasure,  that  I  dine  with  you  at  Thanksgiving,  we  can 
together  form  an  opinion  of  its  merits,  and  I  will  not, 
like  Mr  Pry,  do  you  the  scandal  to  '  drop  in '  upon  your 
cook,  J.  F. 


(1 


mm 


1' 


1 

111 

76 


TRAVELS    OF    A    TIN    PEDLAR. 


NO.  III. 


Sir — After  travelling  vvestwavd  many  miles,  I  entered 
a  pretty  village  in  the  mountains;  the  people  were  lib- 
eral and  discriminating  for  I  sold  many  miscellaneous 
notions  at  a  comfortable  price.  I  was  taken  aside,  by 
a  good  gentleman  with  a  long  nine  in  his  teeth,  and  a 
white  hat  over  his  left  ear;  he  was  the  village  lawyer, 
and  told  me  that  I  was  trading  against  the  statute,  and 
that  the  constable  ('  he  looked  like  a  mastiff,')  was 
about  to  complain.  Therefore,  said  he,  as  Cicero  said 
to  Cataline,  vanish — emerge — evaporate.  I  hooked  on 
the  black  padlock,  and  in  ten  minutes  was  on  the  moun- 
tain looking  back  \   .on  the  village. 

At  the  next  inn,  which  was  of  unhewn  logs,  plaster- 
ed with  mud,  I  was  challenged  to  a  swap;  but.  Sir, 
money  could  not  buy  my  old  and  faithful  horse.  Many 
a  cold  winter  morn  has  beheld  Jonathan  Farbink,  shiv- 
ering himself,  while  his  cloak  was  on  the  back  of  his 
old  servant  and  friend.  But  when  a  race  was  proposed, 
I  underwrote  upon  the  risk,  turning  out  certain  presi- 
dents and  directors,  as  collateral  security.  Well  I 
knew  the  mettle  of  old  Dobbin,  even  in  the  tin  wagon, 
where,  in  fact,  he  exhibits  the  greatest  speed;  even  as 
a  dcg  scours  away  the  fastest  with  a  cannister  at  his 
tail.  I  touched  the  wager,  and  won,  also,  the  admira- 
tion of  my  antagonist,  who  admitted  that  I  drove  a 
'  camfire  '  team;  for  that,  in  Vermont,  is  the  commen- 
datory phrase.  " 

At  dinner,  I  held  a  colloquy  with  'a  discreet  maiden 
lady,  equal  in  charms  to  the  prettiest  Asturian  in  Don 
Quixotte.  Her  complexion  had  something  of  the  vio- 
let, but  little  of  the  lily  or  rose;  and  she  had  an  eye 
like  a  boiled  egg.     Upon  my  statement  that  I  was  sin- 


m 


TRAVELS    OF    A    TIM    PEDLAR. 


77 


gle  and  discontented,  she  intimated  her  approbation  o 
the  class  of  travelHng  merchants,  and  her  partiaHty  forf 
an  individual;  but  I  tore  myself  away,  and  passed 
through  the  heart  of  the  Green  Mountains,  to  Burling- 
ton. 

The  Onion  River  has  some  pretty  scenes,  for  the 
river  is  more  attractive  than  the  name;  still,  the  word 
is  better  than  the  thing.  Our  rivers  were  first  explored 
and  named  by  rude  and  uniniagii.;iiivc  hunters,  and 
not,  as  in  other  countries,  by  intelligent  travellers. 
Here  is  the  Onion  River,  and  the  Otter  Creek;  we 
have  also  the  Big  Ilockhocking,  and  the  Little  Hock- 
hocking,  the  Little  Muskingum,  and  the  Big  JMuskingoim, 
and  the  Big  Sandy,  (which  is  muddy)  and  the  Big 
Muddy,  (which  is  sandy).  The  Indian  appellations 
are  always  descriptive,  and  often  musical;  the  Castilian 
language  has  nothing  more  majestic  than  Monongahela, 
and  Alatamaha;  and  the  Italian,  nothing  softer,  than 
Ohio  and  JMiami.  In  the  Green  Mountains,  the  for- 
ests are  dense  and  dark,  though  they  occasionally  dis- 
play a  log  hut,  and  a  sunny  spot  of  cultivation.  Tall 
trunks  '■  shorn  of  their  beams  '  (that  is,  of  their  branch- 
es) and  blackened  by  fire,  stand  like  the  remaining  pil- 
lars of  a  desolated  city,  and  seemingly  frown  upon 
those  foes  of  the  forest,  the  woodman  and  his  white 
halted  sons. 

Having  toiled  up  a  rugged  hill,  I  saw  the  sky  indent- 
ed with  distant  mountains,  which  I  knew  were  on  the 
western  side  of  the  lake,  a  noble  expanse  that  I  «toon 
beheld,  calm  as  a  sleeping  beauty,  and  reflecting  in  its 
bosom  the  flattered  imai;e  of  the  hills.  At  the  wharf 
our  attention  was  attracted  by  a  small  dark  oltyM  far 
up  the  lake;  as  it  approached,  a  clanking  was  lizard, 
and  the  steamboat  came  rushing  on,  pawing  over  the 
waters  like  a  behemoth.  - 

7* 


i 


78 


TRAVELS    OF    A    TIN    PEDLAR. 


I  went  in  it  to  Plattsburgh,  where  1  walked  out  with 
mine  host  of  the  Cross  Keys,  who  was  intelligent,  and 
willing  to  communicate  knowledge.  With  the  forefin- 
ger of  his  left  hand,  he  pointed  to  the  place  where  tl  e 
fustian-clad  militia  routed  fourteen  thousand  veterans, 
who  at  Waterloo,  had  stood  '  firm  for  the  honor  of  the 
household  troops.'  This  conflict  raged  at  the  same 
time  with  the  battle  on  the  lake,  and  both,  Sir,  made 
martial  music.  Haydn's  Creation  has  some  good 
thoughts,  at  least  suunds;  yet  it  is  but  little  to  the  taste 
of  the  old  warrior  who  loves  the  roaring  of  a  twenty  four 
pounder,  a  clap  of  thunder,  and  now  and  then  an  earth- 
quake. To  say  the  just  thing  of  these  Vermontese 
and  their  neighbours,  nothing  less  than  an  earthquake 
can  move  them  from  their  post,  more  especially  when 
it  is  behind  a  log,  a  bush,  or  a  stone.  Sir  George  Pro- 
vost, held  them  in  unmerited  contempt,  for  although 
they  are  too  sturdy  to  submit  at  once  to  the  discipline 
of  firing  in  platoons,  yet  their  long  guns  were  pointed 
with  such  judgment,  that  every  bullet  did  execution. 

The  river,  which  is  broken  by  rocks  into  frequent 
cascades,  divides  the  village.  There  is  a  bridge,  and 
above  it,  and  below,  are  islands  covered  with  bushes. 
On  the  margin  of  the  stream,  are  several  mills  of  gran- 
ite, and  on  the  north  is  a  forest,  through  which  runs  the 
Canada  road.  On  that  road  (said  my  garrulous  land- 
lord) came  the  crimson  ranks  of  the  enemy,  keeping 
excellent  time  to  solemn  music.  At  the  same  moment 
their  fleet  doubled  the  point,  bearing  down  on  the  Amer- 
ican line,  at  the  harbor's  mouth. 

The  invading  army  was  in  three  columns,  one  of 
which  advanced  upon  the  bridge,  a  second  went  up  the 
rivdr,  and  the  third  remained  to  bombard  the  town. 
Thi)  column  that  went  up  the  river,  attempted  to  ford 
wht;re  the  opposite  bank  was  lined  with  riflemen,  lying 


TRAVELS    OF    A    TIN    PEDLAR. 


79 


(said  my  informant)  '  flat  upon  their  bellies.'  Shelter- 
ed themselves,  they  discharged  a  murderous  fire.  ] 
myself,  Sir,  am  not  particularly  clumsy,  yet  these  banks 
are  so  steep  that  were  the  enemy  in  my  rear,  and  he  a 
mad  dog,  I  could  not  quickly  ascend. 

Yet  the  British  soldiers,  with  their  characteristic  ob- 
stinacy, persisted  long  in  the  hopeless  attempt.  A  few, 
however,  reached  the  summit,  but  it  was  only  to  be 
thrown  back  into  the  stream,  from  which  they  rose  not 
again.  I  doubt  if  any  people  will  mount  a  breach  bet- 
ter than  the  English,  or  stand  longer  in  the  open  field 
to  be  knockt  1  on  the  head.  A  Frenchman  will  make 
you  a  better  charge,  but  his  hardihood  soon  evaporates 
like  the  foam  of  his  own  champagne;  an  Irishman,  who 
trails  the  puissant  pike,  scorns  '  upon  compulsion  '  to 
budge  a  foot,  and  a  Welchman  is  sufficiently  pugnaciov.s; 
but  they  all  lack  the  bull-dog  [)ortiMacity  of  an  English- 
man. A  Yankee,  indeed,  has  his  good  points,  for  he 
will  be  tomahawked,  killed,  and  scalped,  before  he  will 
quit  his  breastwork,  be  it  log  or  wall.  Think  not  that 
I  underrate  my  countrymen,  but  we  shall  win  more 
honor  in  fort,  than  in  field.  This  is  but  right,  as  our 
wars  must  be  defensive;  and  as  this  preference  to 
breastworks  has  no  connexion  with  cowardice.  Our 
first  great  battle  was  at  Bunker  Hill,  and  the  next,  in 
point  of  important  effect,  at  New  Orleans;  and  at  these 
the  fowling  piece  and  rifle  did  such  service,  that  they 
are  '  hung  up  for  monuments,'  anrl  inspire  a  confidence 
in  their  own  way  of  mowing  down  a  multitude. 

The  second  column  advanced  to  the  bridge,  and  halt- 
ed; for  the  planks  were  up,  and  four  six  pounders  doing 
grim  duty  on  the  other  side,  Yet  the  attempt  was  made 
to  cro.ss  upon  the  timbers.  The  first  men  that  tried  to 
pass,  were  swept  away  by  grape  shot,  though  a  few- 
clung  to  the  beams  till  weakness  relaxed  their  hold, 


WXJt 


! 


! 


V  'I 


II 


*' 


^.J$l  . 


80 


TRAVELS    OF    A    TIN    PEDLAR. 


'.vhen  they  dropped  into  the  stream.     I'hree  times  the 
troops  advanced,  and  thrice  were  they  thus  swept  away. 

Another  detachment  was  sent  to  ford  the  stream  at 
an  island  below  the  bridge.  At  the  moment  when  they 
arrived  within  unsafe  distance,  the  little  island  seemed 
a  volcano:  every  bush  discharged  a  flash,  and  every 
flash  carried  death.  Yet  a  small  party  did  pass  below 
the  island,  and  halted  opposite  to  a  mill,  whicl^  was  oc- 
cupied by  boys  like  Galium  Beg,  and  who  recei  ed  the 
enemy  with  a  shout  of  welcome,  and  a  discharge  of 
muskets.  At  this  moment,  the  contest  ceased  upon  the 
lake,  and  every  eye  was  t,urnc<^  with  intense  anxiety  to 
discern  in  the  smoke  the  victorious  flag.  It  was  the 
striped  banner,  and  retreat  was  the  word  with  the  ene- 
my; inextricable  confusion  followed,  the  dead  and 
wounded  were  left  svhere  they  fell,  and  plunder,  as  well 
as  victory  attended  the  defenders.  Thus,  Sir,  have  I 
described  to  you  tlic  battle  of  Plattsburgh,  at  which  I 
was  not,  and  where  I  had  little  desire  to  be. 

From  the  Saranac  I  returned,  over  a  route  too  little 
interesting  to  be  des  "ribed;  but  though  I  date  this  letter 
from  Boston,  my  travels  are  not  over  unless  you  desire 
that  they  close;  for  I  have  been  west  of  the  Alleghanies, 
and  south  so  far,  that  1  have   seen  oranges  and  palms. 

J.  F. 


No.  IV. 


Sir — So  great  is  the  hiatus  m  my  manuscript,  that  I 
now  write  in  December;  thougli  the  last  excursion  was 
in  summer.  In  Washington  street  I  found  subjects  for 
regret,  for  I  shudder  to  see,  in  winter,  a  pretty  face  un- 


TRAVELS  OF  A  TIN  PEDLAR. 


81 


der  a  leghorn  hat;  which  was  invented  merely  to  inter- 
cept the  rays  of  the  sun.  ^ 

•  He  that  would  build  in  Greenland  a  house  with  the 
open  verandahs  of  Italy,  would  have  a  fair  title  to  the 
fame  that  is  conferred  by  ridicule.  Beiiuty  and  grace  are 
nothing  without  case;  no  face  can  be  beautiful,  when 
the  body  is  sufl'eriiig  with  cold,  and  no  motion  graceful, 
when  the  muscles  are  rigid.  This  is  learned  and  true. 
Rob  Roy  plaids  satisfy  both  taste  and  judgment;  but  I 
prefer  heavy  charges  against  parents,  brothers,  friends, 
and  lovers,  who  bestow  faint  praise  upon  India  rubber 
shoes;  which  I  honor  more  than  the  slippers  of  Cinde- 
rilia.  .  •      .. 

I  form  my  opinion  of  a  lady  when  I  see  her  first,  from 
her  dress;  (though  I  protest  against  being  judged  from 
my  own.)  If  she  wear  a  shawl,  she  undoubtedly  has 
common  sense;  and  good  sense  I  expect,  if  her  bonnet 
be  of  fur;  slic  that  wears  a  plaid  cloak  lined,  I  honor,  and 
if  I  can,  admire;  but  when  she  walks  in  gum  clastic 
shoes,  homage  is  added  to  admiration. 

•  This  is  the  perilous  season  of  sleigh  rides,  and  will 
destroy  its  thousands.  A  party  formed  for  a  sleigh  ride, 
is  the  worst  of  all  parties;  and  the  philosopher  was  nev- 
er less  in  the  wrong  than  when  he  compared  the  pleas- 
ure of  sleighing,  to  the  enjoyment  of  sitting  at  home  with 
the  feet  in  cold  water,  and  listening,  at  a  proper  distance, 
to  the  bells.  This  is  all  the  pleasure,  with  but  half  the 
danger.  1  carry  to  this  day  the  mark  of  my  last  and 
first  sleigh  ride.  We  were  six  men  in  dufhls,  posting 
away  with  the  speed  of  a  comet.  Our  horses  threw  back 
the  missiles,  like  proficients  in  the  noble  game  of  snow 
ball;  and  I  was  struck  in  the  lip  by  a  fragment  of  ice  as 
large  but  neither  as  soft  nor  as  round  as  an  apple.  The 
scar  of  the  wound  remains,  and  throws  a  hue  of  ferocity 
into  a  countenance  not  otherwise  hard. 


re: 


82 


TRAVELS   OF   A   TIN    PEDLAR. 


Having  offered  good  advice  to  ladies,  permit  me  to 
throw  away  the  same  upon  gentlemen.  It  is  very  proper 
for  such  ofyou,  my  friends,  as  are  predisposed  to  pul- 
monary complaints,  to  set  at  home  over  a  close  stove 
when  the  weather  is  warm  and  dry;  and  to  walk  forth  in 
pumps  when  the  air  and  earth  arc  damp,  If  you  can 
thus  wet  your  feet,  endeavour,  also  to  keep  them  damp. 
Always  walk  in  the  teeth  of  the  wind,  with  the  coat  and 
waistcoat  thrown  open;  it  is  cool  and  airy,  and  the  linen 
is,  in  December,  a  sufficient  covering  to  the  breast.  1 
have  remarked  that  some  who  wear  the  waistcoat  open 
on  Monday,  button  coat  and  all,  by  Thursday.  This  is 
a  phenomenon  that  cannot  be  explained  by  the  state  of 
the  weather;  perhaps  in  linen,  the  sufferer, (for  such  he 
is,  or  will  be,)  is  as  deficient  as  the  Irish  barrister,  who 
required  eleven  additional  shirts,  to  make  up  his  dozen. 

If  you  have  the  dyspepsia  or  if  you  wish  to  have  it, 
coupled  with  incubus,  eat  late  suppers:  or  if  pickles  lie 
upon  your  stomach  like  pigs  of  lead,  eat  freely  of  them, 
for  it  looks  slavish  to  refrain  from  what  will  injure.  If 
your  employment  is  sedentary,  that  is,  if  you  have  noth- 
ing to  do,  do  nothing.  Take  no  exercise,  especially  up- 
on compulsion;  and  when  you  find  vertigo  coming  upon 
you,   understand  no  hint   to  go  forth  and  walk  awhile. 

Cigars  have  my  entire  approbation,  and  he  that  will 
smoke  ten  in  a  day,  will  moreover  confer  an  obligation 
on  the  doctor;  yet  brandy  is  better  for  him  than  tobac- 
co, and  I  recommend  it  to  all.  Any  excuse  will  do; 
you  arc  thirsty,  or  you  may  be;  but  anticipate  thirst, 
and  you  will  create  it. 

If  your  laundress  wishes  well  also  to  tho  taculty,  she 
Avill  give  you  damp  shirts,  and  the  chambermaid  can  lay 
them  under  obligations,  by  wet  sheets.  It  was  but  late- 
ly, that  I  slept  in  such,  and  at  midnight,  my  own  shiver- 
ing awoke  me.     Indescribable  pains  afflicted  me,  and  I 


TRAVELS    OF    A    TIN    PEDLAR. 


83 


roared  like  a  lion;  raising  the  house,  and  perhaps  the 
dead.  The  remedies  were  as  hard  as  the  malady;  a 
red  hot  trencher  was  applied,  and  it  succeeded,  in  re- 
moving the  pain  to  the  outside.  In  the  morning  I  was 
so  much  relieved  that  I  could  walk  with  moderation,  and 
my  first  employment  was  to  purchase  a  warming  pan, 
which  shall  go  with  me  till  I  die.  I  will  never  again 
tempt  unknown  sheets  till  I  have  sounded  them  with  the 
pan;  I  would  sooner  trust  the  bed  of  Procrustes  or  Gua- 
tamozin,  than  commit  myself  to  unaired  sheets,  in  win- 
ter. 

When  you  feel  a  general  depression,  and  a  growing 
ill  humour,  which  you  deem  the  attendants  of  incipient 
disease;  if  you  are  unskilled  in  medical  practice,  apply 
at  once  to  a  medical  book.  Then  try  the  patent  medi- 
cines; they  are  all  of  them  warranted  to  destroy  many 
diseases  of  a  contrary  description;  and  when  they  fail 
with  the  diseases,  may  succeed  upon  the  patient.  In 
selecting  them,  choose  those  whose  labels  promise  the 
most,  for  faith  operates  better  than  a  charm. 

I  suppose  that  you  ride  often,  and  drive  well,  that  is, 
fast;  I  hesitate  not  to  believe  that  you  can  turn  a  corner, 
at  the  speed  of  twelve  miles  an  hour,  with  a  conven- 
ient disregard  for  your  own  neck  and  utter  indifference 
for  the  lives  of  passengers.  This  shows  spirit,  and  what 
is  better,  a  desire  to  patronise  the  learned  professions. 
When  you  see  aa  old  woman,  crossing  the  street  before 
you,  endeavour  to  cut  off  hor  retreat;  and  when  she 
stands,  (like  a  statue  of  wonder,)  with  raised  eyes  and 
uplifted  hands,  not  knowing  which  way  to  run,  give  the 
rein  to  your  horse.  If  this  should  break  no  bones,  some- 
thing may  ensue  in  the  way  of  hysterics. 

If  you  are  of  the  heroic,  or  hasty  temperament,  be 
pugnacious  in  action;  never  settle  a  dispute  without  a 
battle;  for  peace  is  never  more  firm  than  after  war.      It 


\' 


f^:      i 


ffl^ 


mmmmm 


W 


I 

i 


84 


TIIAVELS    OK    A    TIN    PEDLAR. 


is  majestic  to  tisfht  it  out;  and  if  the  gods  look  down  witli 
favor  on  one  brave  man  struggling  with  adversity,  it  must 
give  them  pleasure  to  see  two  men  struggling  together. 
If  you  love  the  doctor,  I  would  advise  to  a  '  rough  and 
tumble, '  rather  than  a  systematic  set  to;  for  I  have 
known  very  pretty  sprains  come  from  a  back  hug,  and  a 
beautiful  fracture  from  a  kick  in  the  .shin.  The  rib.«j 
however  afford  the  finest  practice  both  to  the  pugilist 
and  the  surgeon,  as  the  fi^rmer  may  dance  round  them 
^as  the  phrase  is)  like  a  cooper  round  a  barrel.  But 
never  pull  your  adversary's  nose;  though  you  may  'tip 
him  the  lion,  '  that  is,  flatten  it  upon  his  face,  like  Mi- 
chael Angelo's. 

But  gratitude  never  follows  good  advice;  therefore  no 
more"of  it.  In  Milk  street  I  came  upon  a  crowd  of  idlers. 
Every  eye  was  upon  an  old  elm,  and  in  the  branches  I 
discovered  one  of  the  birds,  sacred  to  Minerva,  whose 
reception  in  our  Thracian  city  intimated  little  honor  for 
the  goddess;  yet  the  countenance  of  the  bird  was  rather 
in  sorrow  than  in  anger.  He  had  chosen  his  station  for 
defence  and  was  victualled  for  a  siege;  for  he  grasped 
in  his  left  claw  a  rat, 

'  By  a  mousing  owl  hawk'd  at  and  killed.' 
many  a  missile  of  ice  was  aimed  at  him;  and  when  they 
ruffled  a  feather,  he  would  look  down  upon  his  assail- 
ants, with  a  stare  of  wonder  and  of  solemn  indignation: 
yet  ever  and  anon  he  tasted  his  venison  with  an  air  of 
grave  and  unutterable  satisfaction.  I  left  him  to  finish 
his  meal,  and  went  away  under  the  fear  that  he  would 
soon  be  finished  himself;  for  a  sportsman  come  up  with 
a  gun  and  bag,  but  I  desired  not  to  see  the  murder.  I 
myself  was  born  in  a  wood  and  have  for  the  sylvan  peo- 
ple a  fellov/  feeling. 


«•.  •^  -  / 


.  t  i 


l>  ». 


THAVELS  OF  A  TIN  PEDLAR. 


85 


I  am  wiser  than  Ctesar  who  might  have  lived  had  he 
believed  in  omens:  yet  the  arrival  of  this  owl  I  cannot 
expound.  Did  he  come  in  reference  to  the  assembled 
wisdom  of  the  commonwealth,  then  why  did  he  not  perch 
upon  the  capitol,  or  the  back  of  the  codfish  itself.  Per- 
haps he  came  like  me  to  see  the  people,  and  to  moral- 
ize; yet  if  he  made  man  his  study,  his  subject  would 
sometimes  sour  his  temper,  and  dissolve  the  pearl  of 
his  benevolence,  in  the  vinegar  of  misanthropy. 

'  I  too  have  seen 


<,  Much  of  the  vanities  of  men, 

And  sicif  of  liavin^  seen  thcni, 
W'oulil  cheerfully  these  arms  resign, 
;       •  For  such  a  pair  of  wings  as  thine,  -    , 

And  such  a  head,  between  ihoni.' 

Perhaps  sir,  you  suppose  that  I  should  have  the  ad- 
vantage in  the  exchange,  or  that  I  need  not  transmigrate 
to  obtain  my  wish  as  to  the  head.  If  this  be  your  be- 
lief, I  will  furnish  no  more  proof  for  it,  under  my  own 
hand. 

.      -  -  J.  F. 


:  J 


NO.  V. 


Sir — At  the  close  of  my  last  letter,  I  had  returned 
to  Boston,  (from  whence  you  had  eloped)  having  sold 
my  merchandise  to  advantage,  and  I  deposited  a  cool  ten 
in  the  Savings,  I  invested  another  in  a  lottery  ticket, 
whicii  was  perhaps  investing  in  the  shavhig.  The 
scrip  was  bought  of  a  Greek,  which  was  but  right,  as  I 
have  a  Roman  reliance  upon  fortune.  Thus  was  I  ten 
deep,  in  the  Union  Canal,  but  hope  was  before  me  and 
that  was  worth  half  the  money. 

8  . 


0^'.m 


% 


■RT' 


86 


TRAVELS    OF    A    TIN   PEDLAR. 


Having  taken  in  goods  for  nnother  excursion,  I  gave 
old  Dobbin  the  rein,  which  was  in  other  words,  permis- 
sion to  retire  at  the  rate  of  nine  to  the  hour  ;  and  when 
the  stars  began  to  twinkle,  we  were  at  Pawtucket.  The 
falls  constituted  in  their  natural  state,  a  very  pretty  cas- 
cade; but  the  encroachment  of  wheel  and  spindle,  has 
been  at  variance  with  tho  picturesque. 

Even  now  the  fall  is  in  itself  well  enough;  but  it  lacks 
accompaniments,  trimmings,  binding.  The  frame  is 
wanting,  though  the  [)icture  is  good.  In  the  golden  age 
of  bow  and  arrow,  moccasin  and  blanket,  the  banks  were 
shaded  with  pine;  but  now  the  river  runs  between  two 
rnis-shapen  cotton  factories.  Yet  when  the  waters  are 
high,  it  is  a  jjleasant  sight  to  see  them  foaming  over  the 
rocks. 

There  is  something  in  a  water  fall,  as  in  a  fire,  that 
attracts  the  eye  of  man  and  beast.  Gentle  reader, — 
or  reader  is  a  better  phrase,  for  I  know  you  not,  and 
have  my  doubts  ;  raise  your  eye  to  the  pleasant  family- 
circle  to  which  you  are  reading  this  narrative,  and  you 
will  find  every  eye  upon  the  fire,  and  no  exception  lies 
to  cat  or  terrier.  A  waterfall  has  the  same  attraction 
to  the  eye,  even  where  we  have  seen  it  a  thousand  times; 
and  two  men  upon  the  bridge,  driving  a  bargain  in  cotton, 
will  look<  steadily  at  the  torrent.  Below  the  falls  is 
an  abyss,  where  the  watev  boils  up  as  in  a  cauldron;  by 
the  side  of  it  is  a  building  of  six  stories,  from  the  roof  of 
which  I  have  seen  young__tritons  plunge  into  the  gulf,  in 
a  way  that  would  astonish  a  Sicilian  diver. 

I  went  over  the  very  best  of  roads,  to  Providence; 
where  I  was  shaved  by  a  barber  so  learned,  that  he  posed 
me  on  the  Greek  articles;  and  he  shaved  as  well  as 
bespoke.  I  emerged  with  a  smooth  chin,  or  as  Milton 
says,  shorn  of  my  beams;  and  ran  against  a  la^ly  of  a 
thousand  attractions;  she  received  with  indulgence  my 


TRAVELS  OP  A  TIN  PEDLAR. 


87 


confused  apology,  and  desired  that  I  would  not  distress 
myself.  But  I  did  distress  myself,  for  sweetness  was  in 
her  voice,  and  soul  in  her  eyes.  It  is  said  that  the  la- 
dies of  Providence,  are  the  most  heautiful  in  the  Repub- 
lic, and  I  doubt  if  the  rule  have  the  proof  of  a  single  ex- 
ception. For  the  assertion,  there  is  bot!i  ocular  proof, 
and  circumstantial  evidence. 

The  bridge  is  the  exchange,  the  riaito,  where  the 
idle  and  the  busy  '  most  do  congregate,'  to  tlie  annoy- 
ance of  the  females,  who  must  pass  through  their  dense 
and  admiring  ranks. 

At  the  colh'-f!  I  sold  a  few  lamps,  of  the  true  Hercu- 
lanean  modi  I ;  for  the  new  president  imposes  such  de- 
lightful tasks,  that  the  '  young  idea '  of  the  freshmen, 
requires  aid  from  the  taper.  Good  !  I  'm  glad  of  it — 
one  of  them  bantered  me  on  my  queue,  and  quizzed  the 
skirts  of  my  coat  ;  but  I  proffered  him  a  lantern,  that  he 
might  after  my  departure  search  for  an  honest  man. 

Mr  M.  the  ex-president,  was  ever  to  me  a  good 
friend,  and  never  did  I  leave  his  hospitable  house  with- 
out a  tip  at  his  currant  wine.  The  right  hand  of  fellow- 
ship to  the  old  gentleman,  and  the  same  Sir  to  you. 
Something  also  I  know  of  the  great  Trismegistus,  for  he 
was  my  father's  friend;  once  on  a  hot  and  sultry  dog- 
day,  when  I  had  toiled  up  the  hill  on  which  he  lived,  he 
purchased  a  few  of  my  manufactures,  and  invited  me  to  the 
meridional  refreshment.  I  was  always  afraid  ofthe  great, 
and  on  this  occasion,  i  went  in,  resolute  not  to  forget 
the  wisdom  ofthe  Proverbs, — '  when  thou  sittest  to  eat 
with  a  ruler,  consider  diligently  what  is  before  thee,  and 
put  a  knife  to  thy  throat,  if  thou  be  a  man  given  to  ap- 
petite.' I  can  at  all  times  do  something  with  a  knife  and 
fork,  but  on  t'lis  u.v.asion  my  appetite  was  good;  and 
such  was  the  nri  or  nature  of  the  honest  man  whose 
guest  I  was,  thu!  iu  lore  rising  from  table  we  were  as  fa- 
miliar as  if  I  had  been  a  judge,  or  he  a  tin  pedlar. 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
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89 


TRAVELS   OF   A   TIN   FEDLAR. 


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'■> 


At  Providence,  I  was  miserably  cheated  by  a  man 
with  a  hooked  nose  ;  ever  while  you  live,  Sir,  distrust 
one  who  carries  '  the  aquiline.'  I  have  known  many 
such,  and  but  one  amongst  the  whole  was  honest,  (my 
own  nose  has  a  little  of  the  curve;)  what  a  people  the 
B^mans  must  have  been! 

From  Providence,  I  passed  to  Connecticut,  favoura- 
bly known  from  its  habits.  The  school  houses  were  as 
regular  as  mile  stones;  and  therefore  the  people  are  not 
gnorant,  though  they  are  not  very  learned.  Their  me- 
diocrity is,  however,  not  in  talent,  but  in  attainment; 
they  have  no  large  capital  where  intellect  can  have  ex- 
citement, exercise  and  reward.  .,, 

At  New  York,  I  remarked  that  the  men  pursue  noth- 
ing with  moderation;  it  is  not  possible  for  them  to  be  luke- 
warm in  politics,  tardy  in  business,  or  slow  to  anger, 
and  redress.  The  young  pursue  pleasure  with  a  con- 
stancy, unknown,  and  not  tolerated,  in  other  cities;  and 
many  a  noble  fellow  is  destroyed  in  the  chase. 

The  ladies  have  more  of  the  princess  in  their  ga  it 
than  the  retiring  dames  of  Boston.  They  demand,  rath- 
er than  permit  admiration;  but  the  humble  man  who  is 
writing  of  them,  readily  complied  with  all  demands,  for 
he  admired  them  from  his  soul. 

Broadway  is,  I  suppose,  named  from  scriptural  allu- 
sions; and  you  cannot  walk  over  the  half  of  it,  without 
a  conviction  that  it  leads  to  death,  and  worse.  On 
each  side  the  Park,  is  a  line  of  hackney  coaches,  as  long 
as  the  funeral  procession  of  a  judge;  and  the  coachmen 
are  the  most  impudent  of  Irishmen;  they  are  a  nuisance, 
and  I  recommend  them  to  the  notice  of  the  grand  jurors- 
Upon  one,  who  jeered  Dobbin,  I  would  have  taken  per- 
sonal vengeance,  had  his  shoulders  been  a  little  less 
broad  ;  but  I  hope  I  shall  yet  catch  him  alone,  asleep, 


TRWELS   OF   A   TIN    PEDLAR. 


89 


and  with  his  hands  tied  behind  him  ;  for  under  favoura- 
ble circumstances,  I  will  surely  break  my  mind  to  him. 

The  commercial  streets  are  like  the  avenues  to  an  ant 
hill,  when  the  emmets  are  abroad;  (though  the  best  of 
the  Emmets  is  no  more;)  here  is  industry  and  gain,  la- 
bour, and  its  reward. 

In  New  Jersey,  the  roads  are  good,  the  taverns/air, 
and  the  publican's  daughters  very  fair;  a  pretty  girl  is 
so  regular  nn  appendage  to  an  inn,  that  I  doubt  if 
licenses  are  to  be  had  without  one,  and  refreshing  it  is, 
in  a  dusty  day,  to  receive  a  bowl  of  nectar  from  the 
hand  of  such  a  cup-bearer  ;  or  to  descend  to  terrestrials 
to  have  the  mint  broken  in  the  julep  by  the  fingers  of 
beauty.  Yet  this  same  beauty  is  always  too  hard  for 
me  in  driving  a  bargain.  With  age  and  ugliness  I  can 
be  as  hard  as  their  own  faces,  but  to  youth  and  beauty, 
I  am  weak  and  kind  ;  many  a  discount  have  I  made, 
when  under  the  spell  of  black  eyes;  and  upon  my  inter- 
est I  have  closed  my  own,  when  a  flattering  tongue  has 
called  me  dear  Mr  F. 

The  city  of  Philadelphia  is  neat,  regular,  and  com- 
modious ;  the  people  to  each  other  are  so  kind,  and  to 
strangers  so  hospitable,  that  I  always  take  my  departure 
with  regret.  It  is  an  error  to  suppose  that  the  Phila- 
delphians  love  not  ornament ;  but  it  is  in  so  chaste  and 
plain  a  style,  that  it  can  hardly  please  the  multitude. 
The  very  signs  in  the  streets,  are  neat  enough  to  be 
framed  for  the  parlour ;  and  of  these  Woodside  has 
painted  the  best.  I  lodged  for  a  while  at  the  Dove,  but 
left.it  as  a  quarrehome  house,  and  found  a  very  peace- 
able society  at  th«  Bear.  The  Wolf  is  a  good  house, 
frequented  by  brokers;  and  when  a  lawyer  is  not  at 
court,  or  his  office,  he  may  commonly  be  found  at 
the  Fox.  In  New  England,  the  sign  post  attempts 
to  blend  the  arts  with  the  conveniences  of  life,  arc  often 
8* 


vmm 


HIWMI 


«P 


mmm 


9U 


TRAVELS    OF    A   TIN   PEDLAR. 


f 


f 


rude  sketches,  intended,  I  suppose,  for  Horses;  though 
they  would  remind  one  of  that  precise  period  in  the  life 
of  CinderiJla,  when  her  steeds  resumed  their  whiskers 
The  Golden  Bell,  representing  a  pumpkin,  is  an  attrac- 
tive sign,  as  indicating  the  nature  of  the  pies  ;  but 
Washington  looks  down  from  a  thousand  posts  in  a  \ery 
grim  and  unmviting  manner.  The  Eagle,  also,  in  the 
guise  of  a  buzzard,  makes  a  wing  at  the  traveller;  and 
the  Peacock  spreads  a  tail  for  his  delight  or  conve- 
nience. 

Where  steeples  are  scarce,  it  is  vain  to  look  for  a 
weathercock;  and  there  is  but  one  steeple  in  Philadel- 
phia, and  no  vanes,  like  the  aerial  watchmen  of  Boston; 
of  which  '  thus  presented  to  my  mind,  let  me  indulge  the 
remembrance.'  The  Narraganset  Cupid  on  the  Prov- 
ince-house, I  honor  as  a  relic  of  times  remote  ;  a  token 
of  the  sylvan  men  who  moored  their  barks  in  the  creeks 
of  Shawmut;  and  the  Cock  upon  the  church,  I  rever- 
ence as  a  religious  bird,  not  given  too  much  to  crowing. 
His  oflnce  is  high;  he  sits  there  reminding  men  to  be  vig- 
ilant in  their  duties,  to  die  for  their  country,  and  to  avoid 
the  crime  and  contrition  of  Peter. 

^^JSext  in  my  estimation  is  the  Grasshopper,  as  big  as  a 
sheep  on  Faneuil  Hall  ;  he  is  no  emblem  of  industry, 
and  why  is  he  there  ?  Sir  Thomas  Gresham  a  prince- 
ly merchant,  in  the  reign  of  queen  Elizabeth,  was  once 
but  a  poor  foundling,  left  in  the  field  to  perish;  the  note 
of  a  grasshopper  attracted  a  person  to  his  aid;  and  in 
after  life,  when  he  that  was  the  deserted  boy,  had  become 
the  friend  of  his  sovereign  and  the  companion  of  princes, 
he  erected  the  Royal  Exchange,  and  surmounted  it,  from 
gratitude  and  a  noble  humility  with  a  gilded  grasshopper. 

J.  F. 

P.  S.  Have  I  fallen  into  imitation  in  describing  the 
signs?  it  has  just  occurred  to  me  that  I  have. 


TRAVELS    OP   A    TIN    PEDLAR. 


91 


NO.  VI. 


Sir — I  ascended  a  shot-tower  near  the  navy-yard; 
th  )  stair-case  had  no  balustrade,  and  the  steps  like 
those  of  the  pyramids,  were  a  yard  in  depth.  I  got  up, 
however,  very  well,  and  looked  down  through  the  barrel, 
and  upon  the  city;  in  the  descent  my  nerves  became 
disordered,  and  I  was  like  a  sufferer  under  the  incu- 
bus. Shutting  however  my  eyes,  (as  I  do  when  I  dis- 
charge a  musket  at  training,)  and  keeping  my  right 
shoulder*  in*  continual  contact  with  the  wall,  I  accom- 
plished thC  descent. 

I  ascended  also  the  steeple  in  Second  Street,  and  list- 
ened to  a  horrid  tale  of  the  churchyard,  from  the  sexton 
and  which,  if  I  believed,  I  would  not  repeat.  Shrieks 
had  been  heard  from  a  range  of  tombs,  and  when  one 
of  these  was  afterwards  opened  it  was  found  that  a  cof- 
fin which  had  held  the  body  of  a  young  lady,  was  empty, 
and  th"*  ♦he  body  was  at  a  distance  from  it,  This  ac- 
countb^  the  cries;  the  poor  girl  when  buried  was  not 
dead,  but  revived  from  her  trance,  only  to  perish  more 
miserably. 

At  this  church  on  the  Sabbath,  I  was  struck  with  the 
perfect  silence  of  the  house  and  the  deep  attention  of 
the  congregation.  In  some  other  chuichcs  I  have  seen 
infants  carried  that  were  not  taken  for  baj  tism;  and  I 
cannot  commend  the  practice;  the  first  joiumn  note  of 
the  organ,  generally  brii.gs  out  a  counter  from  the  won- 
dering baby  and  the  effect  is  not  good.  All  natural 
sounds,  even  the  roaring  of  a  lion,  are  said  to  contain 
melody;  yet  I  have  known  some  infants  and  toui-cats, 
with  execrable  voices,  either  for  a  concert  or  a  solo.  I 
have  sometimes  heard  the  note  of  the  infant,  accompa- 
nied by  a  sonorous  bass  from  a  huge  nose  that  is  blown 


mm 


mmmmm 


92 


TRAVELS    OF    A   TIN    PEDLAR. 


through  like  a  trumpet.  I  could  willingly  see  the  in- 
strument between  the  forceps  of  a  blacksmith;  in  which 
situation  the  musician  of  the  proboscis  might  exalt  his 
own  voice,  especially  if  the  pincers  were  in  a  nervous 
hand. 

I  have  been  annoyed  also,  by  the  falling  of  a  walking 
stick,  as  large  as  a  studding-sail  boom;  five  times  did  it 
fall,  and  as  oflen  did  the  owner  set  it  up  for  anothe  r 
prostration.  Why,  when  it  was  fairly  down,  did  he  not 
let  it  lie }  it  was  no  twig,  but  I  could  with  pleasure  se« 
it  forming  an  intimacy  with  his  shoulders,  even  if  I  had 
to  introduce  the  parties  myself  *     % 

There  are  some  other  practices  at  church  tlTat  require 
the  interference  of  the  legislature,  one  of  which  is  the 
assuming  of  such  vinegar  aspects  as  startle  children. 
Gravity  is  not  wisdom,  nor  is  a  sour  visage  the  expres- 
sion of  a  devout  heart;  of  the  two,  it  is  the  better  to  ex- 
pand the  face  with  a  smile,  than  to  contract  it  in  a 
frown. 

From  Philadelphia  I  travelled  westward,  crossing  the 
Schuylkill  on  a  bridge  of  one  entire  arch,  of  the  length 
of  some  hundred  feet.  Casting  my  eyes  beneath,  I  saw 
a  little  nymph  in  a  skiff,  >\hich  she  managed  w.Uh  great 
dexterity.  The  skiff  was  of  a  beautiful  model  and  the 
same  may  be  said  of  the  mariner.  The  toll  gatherer  had 
a  little  cur  dog  (as  the  man  says,  in  the  play  '  I  shall 
never  forget  that  dog  •')  which  for  my  gratification  and 
the  consideration  of  a  fip  he  held  for  a  moment  over  the 
water,  and  dropped  him  into  the  stream,  the  dog  shewing 
no  fear  before  the  souse,  and  no  resentment  afler,  but 
coming  out  as  much  pleased  as  though  he  had  received  a 
favour. 

From  Philadelphia  to  the  mountains,  Pennsylvania 
looks  like  one  well  cultivated  farm.  The  forests  are 
trimmed,  so  that  the  cattle  feed  among  the  trees,  mills 


mm 


TRAVELS  OF  A  TIN  PEDLAR. 


93 


arc  busy  on  every  stream,  and  the  barns  are  of  i  nagni- 
tude  and  durability  that  surprise  a  man  from  New  Eng- 
and.  The  Germans  have  selected  the  best  of  the  land, 
and  it  has  thriven  under  them.  Lancaster  is  as  large  as 
Providence,  and  situated  on  a  plain,  though  within  a  few 
miles  the  land  begins  to  swell  and  the  hills  increase,  till 
they  end  in  the  long  ridges  of  the  Alleghany  mountains. 

There  were  emigrants  enough  to  form  colonies,  and 
they  travelled  in  various  ways  ;  some  chartered  Dutch 
wagons  with  six  horses  for  the  aged  and  the  children, 
while  the  stronger  followed  on  foot.  At  night  they  en- 
camped, and  I  sometimes  united  with  them  ;  supper  was 
cooked  in  the  open  air,  '  Stranger,  will  you  join  with 
>us? '  was  the  word,  and  the  night  passed  away  as  well  as 
in  pictured  halls,  and  curtained  beds.  In  fact,  the 
sleeping  accommodations  on  the  road  are  not  upon  an 
exclusive  plan  ;  thirty  beds  are  arranged  in  the  hall, 
and  if  the  most  fastidious  traveller  gets  one  to  himself 
he 'thinks  it  luxury.' 

Some  of  the  emigrants  had  neither  money  nor  friends; 
to  them  my  advice  was  never  to  beg  of  a  Dutchman  ; 
though  they  might  sometimes  succeed  in  asking  charity 
of  a  German  damsel,  before  a  boor  had  entered  her  heart 
to  eject  humanity  by  the  collar.  The  distressed  objects 
that  a  traveller  sees,  are  many,  and  some  I  saw  that  I 
should  like  to  forget.  Yet  let  me  record  my  own  mu- 
nificence ;  in  the  mountains  I  met  a  poor  young  woman 
with  three  children  sitting  by  the  way  side.  Her  dress 
and  manner  betokened  better  days,  and  her  story  has 
many  parallels,  in  the  west.  Her  husband,  after  a  long 
illness  that  exhausted  their  slender  funds  had  died  at 
Pittsburgh,  and  she  and  her  children  were  crawling  at  the 
rate  of  five  miles  a  day,  to  Philadelphia.     I  gave  them 

a  bank  note  of Dollars,  and  took  that  occasion,  (as 

my  grandmother  was  v/ont  in  regard  to  myself)  to  ad- 


«H 


■P 


94 


TRAVELS  OF  A  TIN  PEDLAR. 


minist3r  good  advice.  1  advised  the  poor  woman  to 
take  passage  in  a  return  wagon  (for  which  the  fund^ 
were  sufficient)  to  Harrisburgh,  where  she  would  be  in 
a  christian  land  again,  and  might  find  some  kind  person 
who  had  no  German  blood  percolating  through  his  heart, 
to  lend  assistance  to  Philadelphia. 

If  you  charge  me  with  vanity,  the  next  adventure 
will  acquit  me,  and  I  will  tell  it  with  the  fidelity  of 
Rousseau,  hoping  that  the  confession  will  be  a  little 
expiation  for  the  guilt.  One  evening  as  I  was  riding 
down  the  slope  of  the  Laurel  Hill,  I  beheld  an  old  man 
lying  by  the  road  side,  apparently  dead  ;  it  would  be  a 
pleasure  for  me  to  think  that  he  was  dead  in  reality,  for 
I  passed  him  as  though  he  had  been  a  dog  ;  I  am  troub- 
led at  the  recollection.  I  arrived  at  the  foot  of  the 
hill  before  I  thought  of  my  duty,  and  then,  I  neglected 
it;  though,  perhaps,  I  thought  that  some  other  traveller 
would  have  more  feeling  than  I  had  ;  yet  I  would  give 
the  best  cargo  that  I  ever  carried  over  the  mountains, 
to  know  that  some  kinder  soul  took  the  old  gaffer  to  the 
village,  gave  him  supper  and  a  lodging  and  dismissed 
him  with  with  a  little  coin.  The  Image  that  he  was 
created  in,  should  have  been  his  defence  from  death  by 
hunger,  or  any  gradual  cause,  in  the  highway ;  and  if 
my  aid  could  have  saved  his  life,  I  have  no  better  hope 
than  to  die  as  he  did,  deserted  by  men. 

The  woods  in  the  mountains  are  venerable,  and  fre- 
quent cascades  arc  tumbling  from  the  rocks,  while  the 
noise  of  birds  and  waterfalls  makes  an  agreeable  and 
melancholy  music.  He  that  has  a  taste  for  killing  rat- 
tle snakes  may  gratify  it,  unless  the  reptile  should  begin 
first  upon  the  man.  I  discovered  in  the  hot  sand  of  the 
road,  one  of  the  largest,  with  'an  eye  like  Mars,  '  and 
retired  to  the  bushes  to  cut  a  stick;  but  returned  nimbly 
on  hearing  a  rattle  in  the  vicinity  of  my  heels.     It  came 


TRAVELS    OF    A    TIN    PEDLAR. 


06 


from  the  mate  of  the  gentleman  I  had  left  v.i  the  road  ; 
[  killed  them  both,  and  in  cold  blood. 

The  trees  are  generally  oak,  chestnut,  hickory,  lau- 
rel, and  beach  ;  and  on  the  smooth  bark  of  the  latter, 
you  will  see  in  capitals,  J.  F.  I  often  leave  my  name 
upon  a  smooth  surface  ;  my  graver  is  a  large  knife  that 
was  given  me  at  school  for  my  personal  beauty  and  the 
motto  Ojformose  piier,  was  furnished  by  thc_master,  who 
was  himself  a  handsome  man. 

I  wish  that  all  travellers  would  thus  leave  by  the  road- 
side, some  memorial  of  themselves  ;  for  these  traces  of 
a  friend,  give  nearly  as  much  pleasure  as  the  meeting 
with  the  friend  himself.  On  the  covered  bridge  ove 
the  Susquehanna  I  passed  a  pleasant  hour,  reading  in- 
scriptions in  chalk  and  coal,  of  those  who  had  gone  be- 
fore me  ;  and  I  left  my  own  initials,  with  a  figure  in 
crayons,  to  stand  as  a  representative  of  myself  My 
life  might  be  written  from  the  materials  that  are  extant 
on  trees,  bridges,  and  wainscots  ;  and  I  have  often  pro- 
fited by  my  own  memoirs ;  that  is,  when  at  a  Dutch 
inn  I  have  been  tormented  with  fleas,  and  recorded  the 
incident  and  my  own  indignation  over  the  bed,  I  have 
avoided  that  couch,  on  my  return,  as  I  would  fly  from 
evil.  Yet,  that  such  records  may  escape  the  brush  of 
the  chamber  maid  I  invest  them  like  Gibbon,  in  the  ob- 
scurity of  a  learned  language. 

Ten  miles  from  Pittsburgh  1  turned  to  the  left  to  ex- 
amine the  place  where  Braddock  fell ;  and  an  old  man 
in  the  vicSity  gave  me  a  flattened  bullet  that  he  had 
found  in  a  tree  ;  a  relic,  perhaps,  of  that  disastrous  bat- 
tle, and  of  the  first  field  of  Washington. 

The  Monongahela  is  a  deep  and  slow  river,  and  the 
Alleghany  swift  and  shallow,  which  I  take  to  be  the  ex- 
act difference  between  you  and  me  ;  yet.  Sir,  boast  not 
your  depth,  for  the  Alleghany  runs  through  the  better 


■■ 


96 


TRAVELS   OF    A    TIN  PEDLAR. 


country,  though  it  reflect  not,  like  the  deeper  stream, 
the  beauty  of  the  banks. 

1  passed  a  week  at  Pittsburgh,  turning  Dobbin  into 
a  field  of  clover,  and  living  in  a  corresponding  manner 
myself;  that  is,  I  pastured  at  Darlington's,  for  three 
shillhigs  a  day.  The  town  is  an  immense  forge,  though 
I  saw  no  statue  of  Vulcan.  Manufactures  flourish  at 
Pitt ;  1  write  this  on  occidental  paper  ;  near  me  stands 
a  bottle  of  domestic  porter,  which  I  am  about  to  drink 
from  a  western  tumbler,  and  in  the  morning  I  was  shaved 
well,  with  a  Pittsburgh  razor.  -  J.  F. 


iVO.  VII. 

If'  •  •  I       ,  ^       : .  .  *         "  '-.  ' 

Sir — The  city  of  Pittsburgh  is  surrounded,  at  some 
distance,  by  hills,  one  of  which  I  ascended,  and  employ- 
ed an  hour  in  rolling  down  fragments  of  rocks,  to  see 
them  fall,  like  thunderbolts,  into  the  Monongahela. 
There  is  a  neat  bridge  over  this  river,  and  a  better  over 
the  Alleghany.  The  Ohio  has  not,  in  its  whole  course,  a 
bridge,  though  there  are  places  where  they  might  be 
built;  yet  the  sudden  swell  of  the  river  would  be  dan- 
gerous— for  I  have  known  the  waters  rise,  in  two  hours, 
higher  than  I  dare  tell.  . 

The  market  I  remember  well;  for  in  it,  a  puflfof  wind 
carried  my  summer  hat  within  reach  of  a  bear,  chained 
to  a  post;  and  bruin  left  not  one  straw  upon  another. 
In  the  market  I  saw  wild  ducks,  turkies,  and  pigeons, 
opossums,  racoons,  grey  and  black  squirrels,  and  veni- 
son. The  fish  were — cat-fish,  snapping-turtle,  and  eel. 
If  you  know  the  fish  called  potUy  in  New  England,  you 


wmmm 


TRAVELS  OF   A    TIK   PEDLAR. 


97 


can  imagine  the  shape  of  a  cat-fish;  and  I  have  seen 
one  of  the  weight  of  seventy  pounds.  The  terrapins  are 
good,  but  the  eels  and  cat-fish  are  half  mud:  I  prefer 
an  alligator,  towards  the  tail. 

I  purchased  a  skiff  with  aii«awning,  armed  it  with  a 
musket,  victualled  it  with  a  peck  of  potatoes,  a  quarter 
of  racoon,  and  jug  of  whiskey,  and  committed  myself  to 
the  current  of  the  Ohio.  The  river  was  high,  and  the 
current  carried  me  forty  miles  in  a  day;  and  on  the 
third  evening  I  was  at  Wheeling,  in  Virginia;  a 
town  as  large  as  Worcester,  and  more  lively.  Oppo- 
site the  town  is  an  island,  producing  delicious  melons; 
over  this  island  there  was,  on  my  arrival,  a  splendid 
rainbow,  apparently  resting  on  each  bank  of  the  river. 
I  came  to  an  anchor,  that  is,  I  tied  my  cable  of  the  bark 
of  an  elm,  around  a  rock  in  front  of  Symmes^  hotel. 
At  Wheeling,  I  took  passage  in  a  little  steam  boat, 
which  held  my  skiff  in  tow,  as  far  as  Grave  Creek; 
where  I  lodged,  like  a  muleteer  in  Spain,  at  the  well 
known  and  less  esteemed  house  of  Mrs  Cockayne;  in 
which,  while  the  forest  has  a  tree,  I  will  never  lodge 
again. 

In  the  vicinity  are  several  of  those  mounds,  that  are 
so  comr  on  in  the  great  western  valley;  the  largest, 
which  if.  called  the  Big  Grave,  I  could  encircle  at 
one  hurdred  and  ten  strides,  so  that  the  circumference 
is  about  four  hundred  and  forty  feet.  On  the  summit  is 
a  little  hollow,  like  an  old  crater,  and  large  trees  are 
growing  on  the  sides. 

On  the  next  night,  I  was  pulling  the  leg  from  a  chick- 
en at  McFarland's,  in  Marietta.  Here  the  Muskingum 
comes  into  the  Ohio,  at  a  rapid  rate;  the  waters  are 
very  clear,  and  run  over  a  bed  of  pebbles. 

I  knew  the  two  fathers  of  Marietta:  Rufus  Putnam, 
and  Return  Jonathan  Meigs,  both  scio'^fl  of  New  £ng- 
9 


*#■ 


■■^Hf" 


MM 


98 


TRAVELS    OF    A    TIN    riDLAR. 


il   ' 


land.  The  old  General  wan  delighted  with  a  listener, 
and  as  I  am  a  little  deaf,  it  cost  me  nothing  to  please 
him;  but  he  was  every  way  a  venerable  man.  Return 
Jonathan  had  a  Hock  of  merinos  grazing  about  the  plain, 
and  I  tasted  lii.s  mutton.  • 

The  Indian  remains  in  the  rear  of  the  town,  are  walls 
of  earth,  enclosing  a  space  as  large  as  the  Common  in 
l3oston,  in  the  centre  of  which  is  a  raised  plat,  of  seve- 
ral acres.  They  are  the  kind  of  works  that  savages 
would  erect,  made  by  labor  without  art. 

Why  do  you  censure,  in  the  last  Galaxy,  my  puns? 
Some  men  like  a  good  pun;  though  if  a  pun  be  a  bad 
thing,  the  worse  it  is,  the  !  .tor;  and  he  that  will  sneeze 
at  one,  need  trike  no  snuff.  I  picked  up  a  few  Indian 
relics;  I  have  a  noble  columet,  v.'ith  a  tube  of  stone  a 
yard  in  lengtli,  and  it  is  wonderful  to  me  how  it  could 
have  been  bored,  though  I  bore  very  well  myself;  but 
put  up  your  handkerchief,  for  I  have  done. 

To  a  traveller  from  New  England,  it  is  pleasing  to 
see,  in  Ohio,  such  customs,  faces,  and  names,  as  he  has 
left  at  home.  A  primitive  manner  of  travelling  prevails, 
and  that  relic  of  the  golden  age,  the  pillion,  is  in  use; 
though  times  have  changed  in  England,  since  members 
of  Parliament,  going  to  London,  carried  their  wives  be- 
hind them,  on  the  pillion. 

At  Belpre  is  Blennerhasset's  Island,  that  looks  better 
in  ('ascription  than  in  reality.  There  are  some  willows, 
and  a  few  peach  trees;  though  the  boatmen  had  left  lit- 
tle fruit  for  the  lord  of  the  soil,  that  is,  of  the  sand. 
Peaches,  however,  are  so  abundant,  that  one  may  al- 
ways have  them  by  asking  in  a  civil  way. 

I  drifted  down,  with  little  variety  of  incident,  to  the 
Big  Sandy,  which  is  the  boundary  of  Kentucky.  Here 
I  arrived  in  a  night  of  darkness,  and  went  ashore  to- 
wards a  light,  that  disappeared,  after  involving  me  in  an 


EM* 


TRAV£LS    or    A    TIN    I'LD'.AR. 


99 


inextricable  maze.  Having  vainl)'  endeavoured  to  find 
the  boat,  I  gathered  a  bed  of  leaves,  slept  like  a  soldier, 
and  awaked  in  as  pretty  an  ague  as  a  doctor  would  wish 
to  see. 

In  this  part  of  my  route,  I  killed  with  the  paddle  a 
great  many  grey  and  black  squirrels.  Far  north,  there 
had  been  a  scarcity  of  mast,  and  the  squirrels  came 
down,  like  locusts,  on  the  more  fruitful  regions:  I  have 
seen  nine  upon  a  tree  at  one  time,  and  perhaps  I  saw 
not  all.  rhey  swam  the  river  boldly,  but  when  the  wa- 
ter was  rough,  arrived  at  the  bank  too  much  exhausted 
to  crawl.  1  did  not  sec  them  naviguii  ig  a  piece  of  bark, 
with  their  uils  for  canvas;  though  I  cua  believe  that  a 
squirrel  ha.i  as  much  science  as  n  nuutilus, 

At  a  pretty  French  town,  wh:jro  the  people  seemed 
very  happy,  I  found  a  poor  Swiss,  who  was  going  down 
the  river,  and  to  him  I  committed  the  management  of 
the  skiff,  till  we  sold  it,  at  Maysville,  for  half  its  cost. 
At  this  quarter,  the  first  glimpse  of  Kentucky  is  not  very 
attractive,  but  towards  the  centre  it  becomes  charming, 
and  requires  nothing  but  the  olive,  the  orange,  and  vine, 
(great  wants,  however,)  to  make  it  the  best  portion  of 
the  earth.  The  soil  is  so  rich,  that  it  is  of  the  depth  of 
three  feet,  and  the  freshness  and  vigor  ci  vegetation  is 
unequalled.  The  forests  have  little  underbrush,  but 
tall  grass  well  supplies  its  place;  and  the  very  weeds  by 
the  road  side,  grow  t )  tiie  height  often  feet. 

Lexington  is  in  a  i  luiwthat  is  almost  a  valley;  and 
it  would  be  deemed  a  neat  town,  in  any  country.  There 
is  a  courtesy  amoi)g  the  people,  that  makes  a  favorable 
impression  upon  a  visitor;  and  they  are  more  social  than 
the  inhabitants  of  any  town  in  New  England,  of  similar 
size.  It  is  a  pleasure  to  a  stranger  to  see  the  free  and 
easy  terms  upon  which  some  hundred  people,  from  all 
parts  of  the  State,  live  at  Kean's  hotel.     The  hotel  is 


M 


-  pjiiii  ii< 


:^mmmmm 


wn^ 


100 


TRAVELS   OP   A.   TIN   PEDLAR. 


Il\ 


■    i 

h 


indeed  a  Phoenix,  and  I  went  away,  with  the  reluctance 
of  Major  Dalgetty,  when  the  rations  were  acceptable  to 
himself  and  Gustavus. 

Then  I  walked  to  Frankfort,  on  the  Kentucky  River. 
This  is  a  muddy  stream,  running  between  beautiful 
banks,  that  sometimes  rise  to  cliffs  of  three  hundred  feet. 
It  winds  through  forests,  in  which  I  tasted  the  hospital- 
ity of  the  back-woods. 

From  Frankfort,  my  road  was  but  a  horse  path  among 
the  trees,  though  I  sometimes  diverged  to  visit  a  village. 
There  are  no  people  so  glad  to  find  opportunities  to 
please  themselves,  by  serving  others,  as  the  Kentuck- 
ians;  though,  shame  on  me!  1  went  among  them  with  a 
predisposition  to  censure.  I  never  stopped  at  a  log 
house,  where  I  was  not  offered )  refreshments,  and  the 
sons  of  Kentucky  had  too  much  politeness  to  be  inquisi- 
tive; though  had  I  travelled  in  a  similar  manner  and 
dress,  in  as  secluded  a  part  of  New  England,  I  should 
have  been  thought  rude  not  to  relate  my  history. 

From  Port  William,  on  the  Ohio,  I  went  to  the  Big- 
Bone-Lick,  a  watering  place  of  some  repute :  and  on  the 
way  thither  I  crossed  over  to  Vevay,  in  Indiana. 

Cincinnati  is,  in  appearance,  one  of  our  own  towns, 
having  Yankees,  as  raw  as  ever  strapped  box  to  shoul- 
der, and  put  foot  to  the  ground  for  the  'new  countries.' 
When  I  was  there,  I  thought  it  the  most  desirable  resi- 
dence in  the  Republic,  and  I  think  so  still. 

I  was  wronged,  however,  by  a  boatman,  to  the  amount 
of  five  dollars,  in  a  bill  of  the  Owl  Creek  Bank;  I  should 
have  rejected  it,  from  its  very  name,  had  not  the  rogue 
affirmed  it  to  be  genuine,  and  upon  his  honor.  Let  me 
tell  you  something  of  the  currency  of  the  West,  espe- 
cially of  Kentucky,  and  I  will  stop;  for  I  am  as  much 
tired  of  writing  as  you  can  possibly  be  of  reading.  Spe- 


TRAVELS  OV   A  TIN  TEDLAS. 


101 


Gie  19  scarce,  and  what  there  is,  can  hardly  be  denomi- 
nated coin.  A  common  way  of  making  change  for  a 
dollar,  is  to  cut  it  into  parts.  There  are  however,  private 
bankers,  who  emit  bills,  from  one  cent  to  half  a  dollar, 
and  I  have  had  in  my  hand  a  roll  that  would  excite  envy, 
if  not  suspicion,  on  'change,  that  would  buy  little  more 
than  a  dinner.  J.  F. 


>  I 


\-    ■■  I. 


9* 


LETTERS 


FRDM  A  BOSTON  MERCHANT. 


NO.  I. 


Sm — I  do  not  resist  the  reasons  you  offer  for  the 
continuance  of  our  correspondence,  interrupted  Novem- 
ber 1826;  and  it  is  my  intention,  moreover,  to  oblige 
you  by  a  sketch  of  my  early  life,  for  we  were  unknown 
to  each  other  when  both  were  young;  you  were  setting 
types  in  Boston,  while  I  was  planting  the  potato  in  Ver- 
mont. It  is  inseparable  from  the  narrative  form,  to 
write  more  of  myself  than  is  agreeable  either  to  the 
reader  or  the  writer;  then  do  not  call  it  egotism  when 
it  is  only  necessity. 

I  had  an  early  tendency  to  commercial  pursuits,  and 
its  first  development,  like  that  of  all  character,  was  at 
school.  The  circulating  medium  was  limited  to  pins, 
ahd  I  recall  with  pleasure  the  first  lottery  in  which  I 
was  manager  and  proprietor.  I  saved  in  this  fortunate 
speculation,  enough  to  be  converted  into  a  dime,  in 
better  currency,  and  it  was  the  foundation  of  more  ex- 
tensive operations  in  gingerbread.  Here  too,  my  fore- 
sight found  its  reward,  and  success  has  grown  on  what 
it  fed  on,  till  I  have  hopos  to  be  a  Director  of  a  Bank. 


LETTERS   FROM    A   BOSTON    MERCHANT. 


103 


This  is  an  office  of  profit  as  well  as  of  honor,  and  re- 
lieves the  incumbent  of  many  ve:^atious  scruples,  for  the 
Directors  of  such  institutions  are  privileged  to  do  with- 
out reproach,  in  their  corporate  capacity,  what  would 
shame  them  to  commit  as  individuals;  though  I  would 
not  have  you  believe  that  I  shall  claim  for  myself  any 
such  immunily,  when  a  Director  jf  the  Potatovillc 
Bank. 

This,  my  early  propensity  to  double  a  penny  in  the 
shortest  given  time,  was  connected  with  a  strojig  dispo- 
sition to  ramble.  I  became  tired  of  looking  at  the  same 
blue  hills,  and  of  seeing  the  same  hard  faces  among 
them.  But  how  to  gratify  (like  a  Jew  eating  ham)  two 
tastes  at  once,  was  a  puzzling  question;  I  solved  it  by 
purchasing  a  stock  in  trade  of  essences,  to  sell  to  the 
people  of  distant  States;  and  as  I  had  read  that  Vir- 
ginia was  the  most  distinguished  for  juleps  and  cock- 
tails, there  I  hoped  to  find  a  good  maikct  for  tansy  and 
mint,  and  my  hopes  were  much  fortified  when  I  heard  a 
pilot  at  the  Capes,  speak  of  a  thirteen-julep-fog  in  a 
morning  not  particularly  damp. 

On  a  bright  cold  morning  in  October,  in  the  com- 
mencement of  this  century,  I  hurried  like  a  hero  who 
distrusts  his  own  resolution,  on  board  the  schooner 
Charming  Molly,  which  is,  in  the  softer  language  of 
Petrarch,  La  Bella  Maria.  The  bold  commander  was 
one  of  those  polished  navigators  that  hold  up  a  quadrant 
at  noon,  and  a  bottle  an  hour  before.  So  justly  impres- 
sed was  he  with  the  necessity  of  preserving  dignity, 
that  he  never  spoke  to  his  mate  and  three  men  without 
an  oath,  and  an  epithet  to  mark  the  distance  between 
them.  His  oaths  were  of  the  plain  swearing  that  a 
sailor  practices,  for  he  was  not  so  picturesque  or  figura- 
tive, that 

*  He  could  not  ope 
His  mouth  but  out  there  flew  a  trope,' 


104 


LETTERS  rROM   ▲ 


yet)  when  Captain  Bacon's  lips  parted,  you  seldom 
failed  to  hear  a  d — n,  for  curses  fell  from  them  as  the 
pearls  and  rubies  dropped  from  those  of  the  good  child 
in  the  fairy  tale. 

The  cook  was  not  educated  in  a  French  kitchen,  nor 
had  he  ever  heard  of  Monsieur  Ude,  though  his  life, 
like  Very*s,  had  been  devoted  to  the  useful  arts.  He 
made  chowder  to  a  charm,  though  he  was  not  so  neat 
as  Doctor  Mott  in  his  person.  Would  I  were  a  painter 
that  T  might  draw  him,  in  a  red  cap  and  black  whiskers — 
with  a  gold  ring  in  one  ear,  and  an  eagle  and  motto  im- 
printed with  blue  ink  upon  his  arm.  His  brow  he 
would  wipe  on  the  sleeve  of  his  jacket,  which  had  be- 
come glazed  and  varnished,  and  he  would  brush  away 
the  slush  from  his  fingers  on  that  part  of  his  trowsers 
that  enclosed  the  thigh,  so  that  his  dress  was  saturated 
like  a  fisherman's  boots,  and  turned  water  like  the 
breast  of  a  duck. 

The  wind  came  (in  the  captain's  phrase)  from  the 
norrardy  when  we  spread  a  canvass  whose  patches  in- 
dicated long  service.  You  have  never  sailed  beyond 
Nantasket,  and  know  nothing  of  the  sea;  therefore  I 
will  describe  the  voyage  as  carelessly  as  I  can. 

Time,  that  gallops  with  a  rogue  to  the  gallows,  crawls 
with  an  honest  man  at  sea.  It  hung  like  a  millstone 
about  our  necks,  and  he  that  could  devise  a  way  to 
hasten  it  along  was  a  public  benefactor.  We  had  a 
dreadful  calm  of  three  days  near  Plymouth,  when  we 
went  ashore  for  lobsters  and  clams.  I  strolled  like  a 
hyena  among  the  graves,  for  I  am  goule  enough  to  en- 
joy an  old  epitaph;  and  strange  are  the  names  one  finds 
recorded  on  slate  in  the  churchyard  at  Plymouth. 
There  is  Truth,  Hope,  Charity,  Love,  Temperance, 
Mercy,  (written  Marcy)  Wait-still,  Experience,  Rejoice, 
Lamentation,  Welcome,  et  cetera.     It  put  me  back  to 


BOSTON   MERCHANT. 


105 


the  time  of  the  Roundheads  to  see  such  names;  you 
will  find  a  jury  of  them  in  Hume,  and  another  in  the 
Pilgrim's  Progress,  and  this  is  the  panel,  though  I  like 
their  names  so  little,  that  if  they  were  arrayed  against 
me,  like  the  Irishman  I  wpuld  challer^e  every  man  of 
them— Mr  Blindman,  Mr  No  Good,  Mr  Malice,  Mr 
Lovelust,  Mr  Liveloose,  Mr  Heady,  Mr  Highmind,  Mr 
Enmity,  Mr  Liar,  Mr  Cruelty,  Mr  Hatelight,  and  Mr 
Implacable. 

The  commander  went  with  me  on  shore,  and  I  attach- 
ed to  his  collar  a  rope's  end  of  the  exact  shape  and  ap- 
pearance of  a  queue;  and  it  hung  down  his  shoulders  a 
distinguished  ornament  of  the  whole  man.  Even  now 
I  smile  as  I  recall  the  figure  he  made  as  he  paced  the 
street  with  a  gravity  that  was  deepened  to  offended 
dignity,  by  the  unaccountable  merriment  of  the  passen- 
gers. 

When  we  had  rounded  Cape  Cod,  and  fairly  entered 
the  *  Mare  Magnum^^  we  were  dying  of  nothing  to  do — 
sometimes,  however,  we  would  murder  a  poor  porpoise 
as  he  glanced  around  the  bows,  and  *  incarnadine  '  the 
sea  with  his  innocent  blood.  At  other  times  we  would 
catch  with  a  baited  hook,  astoi^  petrel,  or  Mother  Ca- 
rey's Chicken,  though  I  should  not  be  justified  in  prais- 
ing the  taste  of  Mrs  Carey's  poultry. 

A  shark  gave  us  his  company  till  our  good  under- 
standing was  interrupted.  The  cook  had  so  fed  him 
with  bone  and  gristle,  that  he  would  snap  like  a  spaniel 
at  what  fell  overboard,  and  he  bolted  instantly  a  red  hot 
potato  that  I  dropped  upon  his  shovel  nose.  It  was  in 
his  belly  but  a  moment,  before  he  discovered  that  it 
would  burn,  when  he  cut  an  indescribable  caper  that 
delighted  us  exceedingly,  and  went  to  sea  in  a  manner 
that  denoted  inquietude. 


■  «MHHi"l^l— «ip»*i-i^i!S.— ^.wwJ 


i>nWi;.,Vi.,a,TS,T..'J.'.,:^ 


'^mnwmmr'^ff^rmmfnmmmn 


106 


LETTERS   FROM    A 


II 

I 

i 


Sailors  and  Highlanders,  from  sheer  idleness,  are 
great  prognosticators  of  the  weather,  and  from  imitation 
I  soon  acquired  the  habit  of  watching  the  clouds. 
Sometimes  at  sunset  might  be  seen  a  low  line  of 
indentations  near  the  horizon,  which  I  could  hardly  be- 
lieve was  not  the  land,  and  at  other  hours  i  would  watch 
the  gorgeous  pinnacles  that  looked  like  Andes  covered 
with  snow — where  I  could  seem  to  discover  ravines 
formed  by  the  torrents  and  the  deep  shades  made  by 
projecting  rocks — but  all  this  you  may  see  from  your 
own  smoky  city. 

We  spoke  several  vessels — that  is,  we  held  a  talk 
with  the  commanders  of  five.  The  manner  of  marine 
salutation  is  this.  The  sails  were  so  disposed  as  to  keep 
the  ships  at  rest;  then  Captain  Bacon,  elevated  on  a 
water  cask,  emitted  through  a  tin  trumpet  a  sound  like 
the  growl  of  a  tiger,  which  was  returned  like  a  hoarse 
echo  from  the  other  ship — '  Pray,  Sir,  report  the  Charm- 
ing Molly,  Captain  Bacon,  &c.  &c.' 

It  is  enough  to  cure  a  dyspeptic  of  his  *  thick  com- 
ing fancies,'  to  see  a  sailor  eating  raw  pork  with  an 
onion.  But  at  sea  the  appetite  is  not  dependent  on 
dainty  fare. 

Having  entered  the  Capes  of  the  Chesapeake,  we 
soon  afler  anchored  at  Point  Comfort.  It  is  a  snug 
harbor  and  has  a  good  name — for  sailors,  when  they 
give  names,  are  as  descriptive  as  Homer  himself — and 
it  is  but  a  short  sail  to  Cape  Fear,  Cape  Lookout,  and 
Cape  Frying  Pan.  But  lest  like  other  philosophers  in 
pursuing  names,  I  may  lose  sight  of  things,  let  me  tell 
you  something  of  Norfolk,  the  commercial  capital  of 
Virginia.  It  is  in  a  corner  of  the  State,  an4  composed 
of  people  of  all  countries,  and  of  three  colors,  therefore 
you  will  here  find  little  of  the  true  Virginia  character. 
To  describe  it  from  memory,  it  is  a  city  rather  neatly 


««t>j:r»Hifc>  .;  ■■ 


BOSTON    MERCHANT. 


107 


an 
on 


built  of  brick.  But  this  State  is  so  ^  interlaced'  (as  the 
Federalist  has  it)  with  noble  rivers,  that  it  will  ncyer 
have  any  city  of  magnitude  while  the  planter  can  ship 
his  tobacco  from  his  own  door.  The  Virginians,  while 
they  escape  the  moral  contamination  of  a  large  city, 
have  from  their  vicinity  to  Washingtpn,  all  the  impulse 
to  intellect  that  such  a  Capital  can  give. 

At  Norfolk  I  had  the  honor  to  see  Mr  Tazewell.  He 
was  talking  to  twelve  men  sitting  together  upon  a  bench, 
endeavouring  to  make  them  beHeve  what  was  impossible, 
and  their  credulity  was  catholic.  He  had  a  strange 
manner  of  casting  his  eyes.  He  did  not  look  at  the 
dozen  wise  men  to  whom  he  spoke,  but  his  eyes  seemed 
to  rest  upon  some  object  far  beyond  them,  and  more 
than  once  I  sought  to  discover  it.  The  poet's  eye  has 
high  prescription  for  '  rolling,'  but  here  is  great  authority 
that  the  orator's  should  remain  at  rest,  I  myself  think 
that  they  should  not  be  cast  down,  as  if  shaded  with 
poppies,  when  they  seem  to  have  been  made,  ccelum  tueri, 
or,  to  look  up. 

The  Chesapeake  Bay  is  a  noble  inland  sea,  and  a  lit- 
tle north  of  it  you  will  find,  or  did  find,  the  city  of  Bal- 
timore. I  suppose  that  it  satisfied  you,  if  you  antici- 
pated much.  It  has  grown  with  the  rapidity  of  a  wil- 
low, but  it  has  the  strength  and  durability  of  an  oak. 
The  merchant,  are  said  to  act  upon  the  adage,  '  nothing 
venture,  nothing  have.'  Their  commercial  speculations 
are  thought,  in  cities  of  slower  growth,  to  be  desperate; 
and  I  myself  make  bold  to  believe,  if  not  to  say,  that 
they  act  as  Rashleigh  Osbaldistone  played,  and  he 
staked  more  upon  fortunate  risks  than  the  well  balanced 
chances  of  the  game.  This  is,  in  other  words,  an  ad- 
venturous spirit ;  and  it  has  made  Baltimore  what  it  is. 

I  counsel  no  man  to  trust  to  his  first  impressions,  if 
they  are  unfavorable,  and  he  has  the  tooth-ache.    Like 


^imammmfmmmmmm 


lil 


108 


LETTERS   FROM  ▲ 


M 


;  \ 


lago,  I  was  ^  troubled  with  a  raging  tooth/  and  had  I 
described  Baltimore  under  its  influence,  I  should  have 
imposed  upon  you  the  belief  that  I  was  in  a  gloomy 
city,  peopled  by  a  very  plain-looking  race — but  when 
the  genius  of  misanthropy  had  ceased  boring  into  my 
hollow  tooth,  I  looked  at  the  city  and  people  through  a 
fairer  medium. 

I  went  to  Washington  in  a  coach,  with  Ave  travellers, 
as  unsocial  as  Englishmen,  and  more  silent  than  bears, 
for  bears  will  growl  at  each  other.  You  know  more  of 
Washington  than  I  can  tell  you.  It  has  the  seminal 
principle  of  a  grand  city — the  punctum  salient  is  there; 
but  the  chicken  is  not  completely  formed;  mud  and 
magnificence  share  it  equally;  and  as  in  Constantinople 
and  Moscow,  splendour  is  strangely  mixed  with  mean- 
ness. 

The  arts  have  no  very  splendid  monuments  at  the 
Capital,  and  a  coat  of  white-wash  would  improve  some 
public  ceilings  at  Washington — in  other  words,  the 
broom  would  mend  what  was  done  by  the  brush;  and 
this  would  but  follow  the  old  rule — ars  estj  celare  artenif 
for  this  would  hide  it  altogether.  But  if  you  admire 
the  paintings  you  have  my  permission,  only  let  me  have 
yours  to  differ. 

I  sat  myself  down  in  an  orator's  seat,  holding  out 
my  tongue  to  catch  the  inspiration  of  eloquence,  as  an 
alligator  catches  flies,  but  with  less  success,  for  I  was 
in  Sheridan's  figure,  like  a  rusty  conductor  waiting  for 
a  flash  of  lightning. 

I  went  in  a  steam  boat  down  the  Potomac,  and  had 
a  glimpse  of  Alexandria,  whence  you  get  your  flour, 
and  of  Mount  Vernon,  venerated  for  higher  reasons.  I 
saw  under  the  trees,  in  my  mind's  eye,  and  by  the  mem- 
ory of  Stuart's  picture,  a  grave  and  placid  old  gentle- 
man, that  like  Caesar,  was  esteemed  by  his  enemies, 
*  the  foremost  man  of  all  this  world.' 


T^ytt.".-, 


BOSTON    MERCHANT. 


109 


Fredericksburgh  is  somewhat  below,  and  contains,  as 
the  epitaphs  say,  the  mortal  body  of  John  Lowe,  the 
author  of  '  Mary's  Dream.'  He  was  tutor  in  some 
family,  and  like  most  poets  took  to  hard  drinking,  of 
which  he  died.  To  Richmond  the  country  is  dreary 
and  barren,  having  nc  neat  villages  like  Potatoville, 
and  no  hotels  with  red  hot  pokers  in  the  fire,  or  with 
even  a  coulter,  as  at  the  clachan  of  Aberfoil. 

It  must  be  known  to  you,  that  I  write  in  a  clerkly 
hand,  for  I  give  you  the  '  ocular  proof.'  My  pen 
brought  mc  to  preferment,  and  procured  me  the  head 
clerkship  in  a  store,  (for  like  Sampson  Rawbold  I  had 
a  boy  under  me).  There,  in  imitation  of  Patrick  Hen- 
ry, (whom  I  resemble  in  my  mar^.tcr  of  wearing  spec- 
tacles) I  studied  men  and  women,  as  they  came  to  pur- 
chase whiskey  and  tea. 

As  I  write  this  from  memory,  (for  that  journal  was  a 
fabrication  of  your  own)  I  have  little  method  in  sketch- 
ing, and  as  I  grow  old  '  ray  visions  flit  less  palpably  be- 
fore me.' 

The  county  where  I  dwelt  was  named  after  King 
William,  {of  glorious  memory)  and  in  twentyfour  hours 
I  felt  myself  at  home,  for  I  possess,  in  a  great  degree, 
that  principle  of  accommodation  that  assimilates  with 
things  about  me.  A  Frenchman,  however,  has  this 
principle  of  accommodation  in  its  greatest  extent;  put 
the  most  polished  of  his  nation  among  a  tribe  of  Indians, 
and  he  will  be  more  savage  than  they,  and  among  Hot- 
tentots he  would  be  the  filthiest  of  the  kraal  but  here- 
in I  trust  that  my  own  compliance  would  be  more  lim- 
ited. 

At  the  time  of  my  arrival,  the  Virginians  were  shiv- 
ering with  cold,  for  it  was  the  sSason  of  gathering  and 
shocking  (husking)  the  corn,  which  is  penned  up  in  vast 

quantities.     The  corn  is  covered  with  a  roof,  but  the 
10 


mmi 


^l^mmt 


m^m 


\i 


14 


no 


LETTERS   FROM   A 


ill 


sides  of  the  pens  are  of  rails  laid  in  an  open  manner. 
Our  nearest  neighbour  (at  a  short  walk  of  three  miles) 
had  on  hand,  of  the  last  year's  crop,  fifteen  hundred  bar- 
rels, with  five  bushels  to  the  barrel,  for  corn  is  too 
abundant  to  be  meted  by  your  puny  measures.  This 
was  the  product  of  his  smaller  plantation,  and  was  worth 
two  dollars  the  barrel,  though  in  Kentucky,  I  have 
known  it  to  be  sold  for  forty  cents;  in  Virginia,  from 
three  to  five  barrels  to  the  acre  is  a  good  crop.  Excuse 
the  details  of  trade. 

There  is  not  much  tobacco  raised,  and  it  is  (except  as 
an  article  of  export)  a  vile  and  worthless  weed.  Notwith- 
standing that  '  old  Virginia  never  tires,'  the  cultivation 
of  tobacco  has  impoverished  her  soil,  which  it  reduces  as 
much  as  it  does  a  man  ;  ^  think  of  this  when  you  smoke 
tobacco.' 

In  your  republican  State  there  are  but  two  classes,  the 
rich  and  the  poor.  There,  (I  speak  as  a  merchant,)  it 
is  infamous  to  be  poor,  though  it  is  the  defect  of  the 
laws  to  take  no  cognizance  of  poverty  as  a  crime.  But 
along  the  Blue  Ridge,  there  are  more  castes.  The  low- 
est of  them,  like  some  of  the  Hindoos,  eat  no  meat.  Yet 
if  they  who  compose  it  refrain  on  principle  from  animal 
food,  they  sometimes  profane  their  own  creed,  especially 
when  an  ox  dies  suddenly,  or  a  sheep  is  found  rambling 
in  the  woods.  This  class  of  people  uphold  the  tariff,  in- 
asmuch as  they  raise  their  own  wool.  The  allowance 
of  food  for  a  negro  man,  is  a  peck  and  a  half  of  corn 
weekly,  and  two  thirds  of  that  quantity  for  a  woman. 

To  be  a  slave,  is  to  lie,  to  steal,  to  be  everything  base 
and  unworthy.  If  the  body  could  be  enslaved  without 
degrading  and  demoralizing  the  mind,  I  would  not 
much  care  for  wearing  a  fetter  myself.  I  have  tried  to 
get  a  direct  answer  from  a  negro,  (or,  as  here  called,  a 
nigger,)  but  I  might  as  well  have  sought  a  diamond  on 


-<*. 


BOSTON    MERCHANT. 


Ill 


a  Quaker's  fingor.  He  will  make  you  repeat  the  ques- 
tion, that  he  may  have  more  time  to  frame  or  invent  a 
politic  answer.  From  the  slaves  there  are  many  inter- 
mediate classes,  before  you  come  to  the  lords  of  the  soil. 

Remember  that  I  speak  of  a  narrow  district,  and  make 
no  wider  application.  The  higher  classes  have  not  many 
intellectual  resources,  unless  such  as  lead  them  to  fox 
hunting,  horse  racing,  gaming,  and  moderate  drinking; 
though  there  are  among  them  men  of  great  refinement 
and  literary  taste,  and  all  are  generous  and  hosnitable. 

Dinner  is  late,  and  it  is  the  principal  meal;  the  foun- 
dation of  it  i  J  bacon.  Desserts  are  rare,  except  on  holi- 
days; ader  dinner,  come  cigars  and  politics.  Every 
man  is  a  politician,  and  talks  well,  though  vehemently. 
Horses  make  the  subject  next  in  interest,  for  a  Virgi- 
nian, like  an  Arab,  loves  his  horse. 

There  is  something  wrong  in  their  system  of  educa- 
tion, or  rather  there  is  no  system.  There  is  an  utter 
neglect  of  the  advice  of  Solomon.  When  a  boy  is  too 
old  to  be  dandled,  slaves  call  him  Massa,  and  he  consid- 
ers himself  a  man.  In  many  families,  however,  the 
children  are  taught  to  address  the  older  servant  as  uncle 
or  aunteCj  and  this  is  sometimes  more  than  a  form  of 
speech. 

A. fish-fry  is  a  sylvan  mode  of  festivity;  a  company, 
having  caught  their  fish,  eat  them  by  the  side  of  a  foun- 
tain, and  laugh  and  t^ing,  and  joke  if  they  can.  But 
perhaps  nothing  is  so  characteristic  as  an  election. 
The  candidate  makes  a  flourish  on  his  own  trumpet, 
by  giving  a  modest  recital  of  his  own  merits.  He 
must  visit  his  constituents  at  their  houses,  and  make 
himself  agreeable  to  them  at  public  places.  This  of 
course  diminishes  the  distance  between  the  high  and 
low,  and  generates  a  familiarity  of  phrase  not  known 
where  you  live.    You  would,  start  to  hear  of  Ned  Ever- 


:4-:-r 


^■^ 


HV^P 


112 


LETTERS   FROM    A 


ett,  or  Jim  Lloyd,  but  in  Virginia,  it  is  Jim  Madison, 
and  Jack  Randolph.  Rival  candidates  of\en  meet, 
when  in  their  canvass,  and,  to  do  them  justice,  are  very 
courteous  and  jocular  with  each  other.  On  election 
days  they  furnish  whiskey,  and  are  expected  to  drink 
with  the  people.  They  are  then  all  seated  together, 
look  imploringly  down  upon  the  voters,  and  each  ac- 
knowledges by  a  low  bow  a  favorable  vote.  In  elec- 
tions hardly  contested,  the  polls  are  open  several  days, 
and  riders  scour  the  country  to  bring  in  and  feast  the 
freemen.  In  such  times  modest  merit  is  not  always 
successful,  and  I  have  known  a  gambler  of  the  sable- 
leg  kind,  a  drinking,  bellowing,  obstreperous  fellow, 
elected  by  a  large  majority. 


,,;,:■■  /•• ';     NO.  II 

Si& — A  pedagogue  passes  here  at  a  great  discount ; 
and  his  is  not,  as  in  New  England,  a  situation  from 
which  he  may  step  into  the  commission  of  the  peace  ; 
it  is  the  lowest  round  in  fortune's  ladder.  In  rich  fam- 
ilies there  are  private  tutors,  but  there  are  '  old  field 
schools,'  where  the  master  does  well  if  he  can  collect 
fifteen  scholars.  I  grieve  to  speak  ill  of  a  class — but  a 
Virginia  school-master  is  ill  paid  and  worse  taught ; 
though  where  there  <s  so  much  room  for  amendment,  it 
were  want  of  charity  not  to  hope  all  things. 

At  church  the  people  convene  about  noon,  and  afler 
service,  have  much  to  say  to  each  other,  and  the  Sabbath 
brings  many  invitations  to  dine.  In  preaching,  the  Vir- 
ginians are  as  ear^Jy  satisfied,  as  the  Philadelphians  are 
in  acting — and  who  ever  heard  a  hiss  in  the  Chesnut 


BOSTON    MERCHANT. 


113 


street  Theatre.     The  Reverend  Clergy  do  not  *  think 
■corn'    to  taste  wine   when  it  is  good — and   many  o^ 
them  take  pleasure  in  tickling  a  trout,  or  knocking  over 
a  fat  buck. 

The  ladies  may  be  ranked  with  the  dames  of  Spain. 
Elevated,  high-minded,  domestic,  and  passionately  at- 
tached to  their  husbands,  they  unite  in  their  character 
the  best  traits  of  the  females  of  the  other  States.  In 
the  veins  of  New  England  there  may  be  too  much  ice, 
in  veins  much  south  of  Virginia  there  may  be  too  much 
fire.  The  right  medium  is  about  King  William.  It  is 
not  strange  that  such  wives  and  mothers  should  have 
given  lour  Presidents  to  the  Kcpublic,  and  to  the  world 
the  greatest  name  in  its  history.  Do  you  think  a  Vir- 
ginian matron  indolent  ?  mend  your  manners  and  your 
opinion — you  will  not  sec  her  spin,  but  Penelopo  had 
not  more  constant  employment.  To  every  door,  crypt 
and  closet,  trunk  and  drawer  there  is  a  key,  and  it  is 
never  turned  but  under  the  eye  of  the  mistress — for  to 
a  black-face  every  chamber  is  a  Blue  Chamber.  All 
things  are  secured  by  lock,  and  the  mistress  carries  on 
her  arm  a  basket,  with  keys  enough  to  set  up  a  smith. 
The  largest  would  answer  for  a  Bastile,  and  the  smallest 
for  the  collar  of  a  dog.  This  is  a  glorious  system  to 
make  a  servant  dishonest — 

'  He  who  still  expects  deceit, 
Only  teaches  how  to  cheat.' 

The  food  for  the  servants  is  measured  out  by  the  lady, 
and  the  medicines,  clothes,  and  all  supplies  pass  through 
the  same  little  hands  ;  and  where  therc^'are  three  hun- 
dred servants,  this  employment  is  above  idleness.  The 
kitchen  is  not  a  place  where  an  intelligent  traveller 
would  look  for  neatness  ;  but  the  parlour  is  the  perfec- 
tion of  it  ;  the  very  floors  are  waxed  and  rubbed,  till 
they  reflectthe  face  of  the  rubber. 
10* 


pp^i"- 


^mm 


wmmmmm 


114 


LETTERS    FROM   A 


( 


; 


IV 


I    / 


So  much  for  the  ladies  !  what  for  the  lords  ?  I  know 
not  what  to  say,  they  net  from  impulse  rather  than  prin- 
ciple, but  then  the  impulse  is  generally  good. 

•  The  coachman  was  tipsy,  tlie  chariot  drove  home.' 
They  are  generous  to  an  extreme,  and  have  more  plea- 
sure in  doing  a  generous  act,  than  they  always  feel  in 
performing  common  duties.  Perhaps  they  would  com- 
mit a  bad  act  with  less  reluctance  than  be  told  of  it  ;  so 
that  their  famed  high  principle  of  honor,  if  analyzed, 
would  leave  three-fourths  pride.  , 

They  will  peril  limb  and  life  in  a  private  quarrel  ;  but 
they  would  not  fight  for  principle  longer  than  people 
farther  north.  What  a  pity  it  is  that  you  cannot  treat 
a  man  as  a  gardener  manages  his  plants.  If  you  could 
trim  a  Yankee,  that  is,  cut  off  his  ill  qualities,  and  en- 
graft upon  him  the  good  traits  of  a  Virginian,  you  would 
have  a  man,  great  and  good, 

•  I  was  acquainted  with  one  such,  a  cheerful  old  gen- 
tleman, who  lived  upon  a  high  and  wooded  hill,  that  you 
might  call  a  mountain.  He  dwelt  in  a  circular  house, 
that  at  a  distance,  resembled  a  bee-hive.  To  the  south- 
east he  had  an  illimitable  prospect,  but  higher  hills  than 
Monticello  intercepted  his  view  to  the  westward.  To 
Charlottsvillo  it  was  so  open  that  he  could  see  through 
a  telescope  his  workmen  at  their  tasks  in  the  Uni- 
versity. 

He  had,  more  than  I  have  seen  in  other  men,  the  art 
of  drawing  out  all  that  was  known  by  those  with  whom 
he  talked.  It  did  not,  indeed,  take  him  long  to  get 
through  this  business  with  me — but  I  went  away  with  a 
better  estimation  of  myself,  and,  (of  couise)  a  higher 
reverence  for  the  philosopher  of  the  crimson  small- 
clothes. 

Jefferson  is  buried  on  Monticello,  and  his  only  monu- 
ment is  the  hill  itself — '  Si  monumerUum  quaris  circum- 


k 


■i 


m 


BOSTON    MERCHANT. 


115 


apiceJ*  His  grave  is  of  that  plain  kind  that  a  republic 
awards  to  its  benefactors.  It  is  in  nothing  better  than  that 
of  the  humblest  slave,  who  has  escaped  the  lash  of  an 
overseer.  It  is  enclosed  with  a  miserable  fence,  and  a 
shingle  only  is  placed  to  mark  the  head. 

Having  said  a  true  word  of  the  clergy,  something  in 
the  same  veracious  way  is  due  to  the  other  learned 
bodies.  There  are  few  physicians  of  the  lobelia  class, 
if  there  are  not  many  like  Doctor  Rush. 

The  Virginia  courts  have  made  many  good  and  em- 
inent lawyers;  but  there  is  a  large  and  formidable  body 
that  may  be  otherwise  described.  The  facilities  of  ad- 
mission are  such  that  any  man  may  in  two  months  qual- 
ify himself  for  the  bar,  and  in  half  that  time  for  the 
bench.  Of  the  Common  Pleas  I  speak,  where  the 
judges  are  of  the  intellectual  grade  of  our  justices  of 
the  peace — I  speak  not  of  the  bench  or  bar  about  the 
Blue  Ridge,  for  I  never  saw  them  assembled  but  at 
Parkersburgh,  on  the  Ohio  river  ;  and  this  is  in  the 
northwestern  extremity  of  the  commonwealth — There 
were  five  Judges,  and,  as  the  season  was  hot,  they 
peeled  to  the  cotton,  for  every  one  of  them  took  off 
his  coat;  though  in  the  Jtme  session  I  have  seen  this 
done  by  your  brother  legislators  when  they  sat  down 
to  dinner. 

Now,  sir,  indulge  your  surprise  at  my  abruptness  and 
follovk'  me  to  F.'ince.  Fancy  me  leaving  Paris  in  Sep- 
tember, by  the  Fauxbourg  St  Antoine.  Like  the  lady 
Christabelie,  I  was  accompanied  by  a  little  cut-tailed 
cur,  which  I  mention,  that,  like  editors  and  kings,  I 
may  speak  in  the  plural,  for  I  have  become  tired  to 
death  of  the  first  person  singular.  The  notes  that 
I  made  in  my  tours  were  of  an  unsatisfactory  lean- 
ness ;  I  only  put  down,  as  a  traveller  should,  com- 
mon matters,  such  as  expenses,  fares,  and  distan- 
ces, and    at  this   interval  of  time,    memory  will    not 


il 


> 


mmmm 


116 


LETTERS   FROM   A 


I- 


come  to  my  assistance  to  pluck  up  drowned  impressions 
by  the  locks.  But  what  I  have  is  yours,  and  were  I 
twice  as  tedious,  I  could,  like  honest  Dogberry,  find  it 
in  my  head  to  bestow  it  all  upon  you. 

We  travelled  (no  matter  how)  on  the  great  road  to 
Lyons.  On  the  left  was  Alfort,  which  has  a  lunatic 
asylum  in  good  repute,  and  a  veterinary  college. 
Take  good  advice — if  you  have  six. boys,  send  one  of 
them  to  be  educated  as  a  veterinary  surgeon,  and  he 
will  return  to  America  with  *  the  potentiality  of  growing 
rich  beyond  the  dreams  of  avarice'  No  physician  of 
the  '  humans'  (as  they  say  in  Kentuck)  will  take  half 
as  much  in  fees.  Besides,  a  horse  is  a  noble  animal, 
and  deserves  a  better  surgeon  than  a  cow  doctor. 

The  next  place  that  attracted  much  of  our  notice,  was 
the  castle  of  Vincennes,  a  dark  and  dismal  place,  where 
fell  the  last  descendant  of  the  Great  Conde. 

The  Duke  D'Enghein  died  as  became  one  so  de- 
scended— and  stood  by  the  side  of  his  grave,  refusing  to 
kneel,"  while  Savary  gave  the  word  to  fire.  The  result 
seems  to  have  been  anticip  ed  by  those  who  were  sent 
after  him,  for  they  permitted  him  to  take  but  two  changes 
of  linen,  as  if  he  wo}ild  have  occasion  for  no  more, 
though  '  you  and  I  have  heard  our  fathers  say'  this 
supply  was  more  than  always  pertained  to  a  brigadier 
in  the  war  of  our  revolution. 

M irabeau  also  died  in  the  castle  of  Vincennes.  Ho 
had  escaped  from  Pa»is,  and  wandered  about  the  fields 
till  he  was  half  starved  with  hunger,  and  (as  the  English 
say)  with  cold,  when  he  sought  the  dangerous  hospitality 
of  a  cabaret,  or  hedge  ale-house.  He  was  seized  by 
half  a  dozen  blackguards,  who  found  in  his  pocket  a 
small  edition  of  Horace,  and  they  thought,  like  Jack 
Cade,  that  no  good  man  could  tamper  with  Latin,  and 
that  Mir&beau  must  know  too  much  for  a  plain  republi- 


BOSTON   MERCHANT. 


117 


can.  He  was  cast  into  prison,  and  tliR  officers  thereof 
who  had  probably  been  promoted  from  the  shamble ), 
neglected  for  several  days  to  supply  the  prisoner  with 
food,  so  that  when  he  was  to  be  brought  forth  for  further 
examination,  he  had  gone  to  a  more  tremendous  trial. 

Vincennes  is  strongly  garrisoned.  It  has  a  school  for 
artillery  in  which  firing  is  practised  once  in  a  week.  We 
broke  fast  with  an  officer  who  shewed  us  the  guns, 
which,  though  heavy,  are  cirried  by  eight  horses  a  mile 
in  ten  minutes. 

Our  route  now  diverged  from  the  river  Seine  over  a 
rich  and  highly  cultivated  country.  We  passed  several 
villages  of  little  interest  before  we  arrived  at  Melun, 
which  Caesar  describes  as  having  been  situated  on  an 
island  in  the  Seine  ;  and  here  his  lieutenant  prepared  a 
fleet  to  act  against  the  enemy.  This  you  must  take 
upon  credit,  for  I  will  not  endorse  the  assertion. 

We  went  over  the  same  charming  country  to  Sens,  a 
city  surrounded  by  its  ancient  walls,  which  are  still 
nearly  entire.  The  town  is^easantly  enough  placed, 
or,  as  Yankee  editors  say,  located,  and  has  an  old  cathe- 
dral that  you  would  call  magnificent — nevertheless  we 
Timde  no  delay  but  travelled  along  the  bank  of  the  Yonne 
t  i  Auxerre,  of  which,  as  we  arrived  at  night,  we  saw 
nothing  but  lighted  windows.  In  the  morning  we  were 
at  Autun,  where  among  other  vestiges  of  the  Romans 
are  ruins  of  a  temple  of  Janus,  who  was  a  Roman  poli- 
tician with  a  couple  of  faces;  but  had  he  lived  in  these 
times,  I.think  he  would  have  been  no  prodigy. 

From  Autun  our  route  became  more  mountainous,  till 
we  came  to  the  chain  of  mountains  that  commences  jn 
Burgundy,  and  which  it  took  us  more  than  two  hours  to 
ascend.  They  are  of  whin  stone  and  granite,  the  first 
I  saw  in  France,  where  till  then  I  had  only  been  in  dis- 
tricts of  limestone  (do  nH  print  that  brimstone)  and  coal. 


Il' 


118 


LETTERS   FROM   A 


L  I 


Here  we  found  a  change  also  in  vegetation,  for  we  saw 
the  plants  common  to  cold  and  elevated  spots,  especially 
a  hardy  kind  of  heath.  On  descending  the  mountains 
we  came  to  the  celebrated  vineyards  that  produce  the 
Burgundy  wines.  It  will  cost  you  too  much  money  to 
ma^ie  their  acquaintance  in  America,  but  in  Paris  it  is 
at  good  houses  a  common  wine.  It  is  carefully  carried 
on  a  canal  that  unites  the  Saone  and  the  Loire.  The 
valley  extends  from  the  mountains  to  the  river,  and  it  is 
cultivated  well.  But  in  general  beauty  of  appearance 
we  cannot  compare  France  with  England.  In 
the  United  Kingdom  the  hedges  make  a  charming 
feature  in  the  landscape,  and  the  cottages,  villas,  villa- 
ges, and  castles,  are  in  a  better  taste  than  in  France. 
A  Frenchman  cannot  live  alone,  and  I  doubt  if  you . 
will  find  a  hermit  in  all  France.  Hence  you  see  so 
many  mean  villages  and  so  few  pretty  and  comfortable 
cottages.  The  chateaux  rre  nearly  all  alike.  They 
are  the  most  cold,  comfortless,  stiff  and  dismal  rubbish, 
that  ever  cumbered  the  ground,  and  have  the  most  right 
angled  rows  of  cut  box  and  trimmed  yew  that  ever  de- 
formed the  sweet  face  of  creation. 

Then  the  roads  in  France  are  in  straight  lines  like 
the  Providence  turnpike,  and  seem  to  double  the  dis- 
tance to  man  and  dog  ;  for  the  point  of  perspective  re- 
cedes as  they  advance.  Though  they  are  overshadow- 
ed with  trees,  I  prefer  the  open  winding  roads  of 
England. 

When  you  are  in  the  chair  of  a  committee  of  roads, 
ever  keep  an  eye  open  to  the  picturesque,  and  your 
constituents  will  have  easier  ways.  The  engineers  (if 
such  they  were)  of  some  of  our  roads,  seem  never  to 
have  gone  over  the  route,  but  to  have  drawn  on  the  map 
straight  lines  uniting  two  points;  a  wavering  horizontal 
line  has  no  greater  distance  than  an  undulatory  course 


1 


BOSTON    MERCHANT. 


119 


that  rises  hills,  yet  it  gives  a  coach  horse  some  chance  for 
his  Hfe;  and  it  becomes  us  to  have  some  fellosv  feeling 
for  a  poor  beast. 

The  great  number  of  villages  in  France  make  the  in- 
termediate country  thinly  peopled.  The  people  all 
collect  in  villages,  and  a  labourer  would  sooner  walk  five 
miles  to  his  daily  task  than  live  in  no  better  society  than 
a  man  furnishes  to  himself  Volney  said  that  the 
French  who  were  settled  600  leagues  from  New  Or- 
leans, could  not  exist  without  an  annual  visit  to  the  city, 
^  pour  causer.^ 

In  England,  the  population  is  more  spread  by  reason 
of  the  small  freeholds,  as  in  our  own  pleasant  land. 
But  in  France,  before  the  revolution,  the  landholders 
w^ere  princes  and  nobles,  with  extensive  domains,  and 
some  of  them  cared  less  for  the  comfort  of  the  peasantry 
than  I  care  for  the  accommodation  of  my  dog. 

The  revolution,  if  it  did  not  bring  better  manners, 
(which  Madame  de  Stael  doubted,)  created  in  the  di- 
vision of  property  a  better  state  of  things.  The  divis- 
ion, however,  is  of  so  late  a  date,  that  it  has  not  changed 
the  face  of  the  country,  though  according  to  the  Edin- 
burgh Review,  there  are  in  France  three  landholders  to 
one  in  England. 

The  implements  of  agriculture  are  truly  Arcadian, 
and  carry  one  back  to  the  infancy  of  the  arts.  The 
plough  and  carts  are  but  rudely  made,  and  much  power 
is  certainly  lost  in  yoking  oxen  three  abreast.  It  would 
be  better  to  arrange  them '  tandem^  as  I  have  seen  in  the 
Vale  of  Gloucester,  or  to  attach  them  in  pairs,  by  the 
tail,  as  I  have  not  seen  in  Tipperary. 

Chalons  is  a  pleasant  town  as  large  as  Salem,  situated 
in  a  rich  and  wide  valley  of  the  Saone,  and  it  is  a  con- 
siderable market  for  wines  and  grain.  It  has  also  large 
manufactories  of  false  pearls,  equal  in  splendour  and 


n' 


120 


LETTERS    FROM    A 


value  to  the  Attleborough  jewelry.  The  pearls  are 
made  of  the  scales  of  a  species  of  carp — the  Vablette 
of  the  French.  At  the  table  d'hote,  for  the  first  time 
in  my  life,  I  had  the  honor  to  dine  with  a  negro — a  gen- 
tleman of  colour,  who  was  not  without  dignity  of  deport- 
ment. 

From  Chalons  we  took  passage  in  a  coche  deau  for 
Lyons.  Tho  boat  was  along  ark  drawn  by  four  horses, 
that  are  relieved  once  in  ten  miles. 


NO.  III. 

Dear  sir — As  fellow  travellers  should  be  free,  I  take 
the  liberty  to  address  you  with  the  customary  adjective 
of  favor,  before  telling  you  that  in  going  down  the  Saone 
from  Chalons  to  Ma^on,  we  found  it  but  a  muddy  river. 

Ma^on  is  on  the  right  bank,  and  has  the  most  superb 
quay,  I  have  seen  in  France  ;  and  town  and  country 
from  the  bank  are  very  beautiful.  As  wc  descended, 
the  attractions  of  the  scenery  increased,  and  the  river 
reflected  better  chateaux  than  were  the  subjects  of  our 
censure  in  a  late  letter.  The  land  seemed  abundantly 
ffertile,  and  the  hills  cultivated  even  to  their  tops;  though 
too  distant  for  us  to  discover  the  nature  of  the  crops. 
The  boat  was  now  stopped,  that  two  pretty  demoi- 
selles might  step  on  board.  They  were  attractive  en- 
voys from  two  hotels,  despatched  to  invite  and  persuade 
the  passengers  to  their  respective  houses.  The  pretti- 
est ambassador  carried  us  away.  This  reminds  me  that 
I  was  once  beset  on  Chesnut  street  wharf  in  Philadelphia, 
by  the  agents  of  two  steam  boats.  I  stood  like  Garrick, 
between  tragedy  and  comedy;  or,  like  a  man  in  tempta- 


BOSTON   MERCHANT. 


121 


tion  equally  balanced  between  duty  and  will ;  or,  (in  fine) 
I  was  like  the  metaphysician's  ass  between  two  bundles 
of  hay,  for  I  knew  not  which  to  choose.  I  went,  how- 
ever, in  the  Union  line,  though  a  button  out  of  pocket  to 
its  antagonist,  whose  agent  had  a  pluck  at  the  upper 
benjamin. 

These  ambassadors  extraordinary,  that  were  sent  out 
to  draw  in  the  passengers,  were  not  more  attractive  than 
most  of  the  young  women  of  this  district.  Generally  speak- 
ing, all  are  pretty,  and  the  exceptions  are  rare.  They  wear 
a  little  straw  hat,  but  the  effect  of  it  is  not  graceful.  It 
was  at  Belville  that  we  dined. 

At  Lyons  our  baggage  was  tumbled  according  to 
usage  ;  the  baggage  and  the  passport  are  great  annoy- 
ances to  travellers;  the  passport  you  must  have,  but 
generally,  too  much  baggage  is  carried.  I  had  grown 
wise  from  suffering,  and  took  on  this  route,  only  the 
contents  of  a  bag,  that  I  could  carry  under  the  arm  ; 
saving  thereby  the  delays  at  the  custom  house,  the 
struggle  and  uproar  of  porters,  a  great  many  pennies 
from  carriers,  and  consequently  much  equanimity  to  my- 
self \,  .    , 

You  must  travel  far  to  find  a  city  so  pleasantly  plac- 
ed as  Lyons;  it  is,  like  Philadelphia,  just  above  the 
junction  of  two  rivers;  but  surrounded  by  blue  waters, 
green  fields,  dark  hills,  and  hanging  crags;  though  all 
these  give  a  double  gloom  to  narrow  and  dim  alleys,  with 
old  and  prison-like  houses.  The  Rhone  is  as  large  as 
the  Ohio,  at  Marietta,  but  it  has  loftier  hills.  There 
are  more  than  one  hundred  thousand  people,  of  which 
half  seem  to  be  smokers. 

The  quay  is  the  best  that  I  have  seen,  not  excepting 
that  at  Dublin.    It  has  a  noble  row  of  houses  and  Hues  of 
trees.     The  best  bridge  over  the  Saone,  like  all  the  best 
modern  monuments  in  France,  was  made  by  Napoleon. 
11 


t 


122 


LETTERS   FROM   A 


i 


• 


P 


There  are  more  than  fifty  churches,  and  on  the  summit  of 
a  hill,  overlooking  river,  town,  and  valley,  is  a  cemetery 
like  that  of  Pere  La  Chaise.  The  French  do  not  use 
their  departed  friends  so  ill,  as  to  hide  their  remains  in  an 
obscure  corner,  or  '  neglected  spot '  so  seldom  seen,  that 
when  visited  it  creates  antipathy.  But  they  keep  alive 
the  memory  of  the  departed,  by  a  thousand  affecting  ob- 
servances- -the  graves  are  planted  with  flowers  and 
shaded  with  trees.  The  epitaphs  are  in  better  taste 
than  those  collected  by  Aldcn,  and  the  monuments 
are  not  surmounted  by  the  hideous  death's  heads 
and  crossed  bones  that  you  \Vill  find  at  home  with- 
out going  far;  nor  is  good  marble  defaced  by  images 
purporting  to  represent  cherubs  in  the  likeness  of  owls, 
all  head  and  wings.  It  is  almost  impiety  to  make  such 
images,  and  if  they  are  intended,  to  be  descriptive  of  any 
thing  hereafter,  they  may  in  young  minds,  create  a 
distaste  for  invisible  things.  The  situation  of  the  bless- 
ed has  been  described  (and  in  France)  in  such  bad 
taste  as  to  disgust  the  dying  listener. 

Our  burying  grounds,  especially  in  cities,  are  good 
subjects  for  reformation,  and  it  is  my  preference  to 
be  laid  alone  under  a  tree  in  the  country.  The 
ground  upon  the  Neck  is  the  commencement  of  better 
taste,  and  I  hope  that  you  may  live  to  see  public  prom- 
enades, planted  with  trees,  in  all  the  church  yards  in 
Boston. 

The  silk  in  Lyons  is  made  in  small  quantities,  in 
families,  like  the  linen  in  Ireland,  and  straw  hats  in  Leg- 
horn, so  that  the  merchant  who  buys  and  exports  it, 
makes  more  profit  than  the  manufacturer,  whom  he  con- 
trives to  keep  poor. 

Now,  Sir,  let  your  imagination  supply  a  gap  in  my 
notes,  and  fancy  us  at  Geneva,  a  town  nearly  twice  as 
large  as  Providence,  built  on  a  gentle  eminence  at  the 
narrowest  part  of  the  lake,  whence  the  Rhone  rushes  in 


BOSTON    MERCHANT. 


123 


p^m 


two  streams,  soon  to  be  united  in  one  grand  river.  This 
is  the  largest  town  in  Switzerland,  but  the  architecture 
deserves  only  mode. ate  praise.  Many  houses  have  ar- 
cades, which  are  more  convenient  than  becoming. 

The  manufactures  are  of  watches,  and  all  kinds  of 
ornaments  of  gold,  and  I  have  a  watch  of  that  material, 
which  would  almost  discover  the  longitude,  that  (as  king 
Harry  said  of  his  queen)  I  have  Avorn  like  a  jewel  hung 
about  my  neck  for  thirteen  years,  though  I  gave  for  it 
in  Gen'  va,  but  thirty  dollars.  A  little  very  fine  gold  is 
found  in  the  sands  of  the  Rhone. 

The  population  of  Geneva  is  mixed — and  in  summer 
there  are  many  English.  The  language  is  French, 
though  generally  German  is  understood,  and  many  peo- 
ple know  something  of  English. 

The  ladies  are  very  attractive,  and  they  are  fond 
of  parties;  that  is,  of  assemblies;  in  which,  it  is  said, 
as  many  ladies  are  invited  as  there  may  be  chairs  at 
hand,  and  as  many  gentlemen  as  can  be  found. 

We  went  to  Ferney,  a  neat  village  of  eighty  houses, 
though  before  Voltaire  came,  it  had  but  two  or  three  huts. 
The  chamber  of  the  philosopher  of  the  human  race  re- 
mains as  when  he  left  it  on  his  last  visit  to  Paris,  except 
that  his  admirers  have  cut  away  the  curtains  for  relics ;  and 
the  same  you  know  happened  in  America  to  Lafayette's 
wig.  The  chamber  lias  engravings  of  Washington,  Frank- 
lin, Frederick,  Newton,  and  others.  There  is  a  little  urn 
that  contains,  or  was  meant  to  contain,  the  ashes  of  that 
restless  heart,  inscribed  nion  caur  est  ici,  maia  mon  cspri^ 
est  partout.  The  attendant  produced  his  old  night  cap, 
and  put  it  on  my  head;  and  while  I  wore  it,  I  felt  that  I 
could  think  in  paradoxes,  speak  in  sarcasms,  and  write  in 
epigrams. 

On  the  return  we  ascended  a  little  hill,  and  for  the 
first  memorable  time  beheld  Mont  Blanc,  with  its  summit 
so  clear  in  the  setting]  sun,  that   it  seemed  we  might 


1  ■(? 


.  "Tji 


■i^ifl^ 


124 


LETTERS   PROM   A. 


t 


see,  at  this  distance,  a  man  upon  it.  It  was  a  splen- 
did scene,  surpassing  all  description  but  the  painter's. 
But  some  of  this  scenery  is  represented,  by  Fisher, 
with  the  fidelity  of  a  mirror  ;  and  you  can  admire 
the  beauty  of  the  picture,  but  it  is  only  for  those 
who  have  been  in  Switzerland  to  estimate  its  truth  and 
fidelity. 

.Before  us  was  the  whole  canton  of  Vaud,  sloping 
from  the  Jura  Mountains,  enlivened  by  villages  and 
towns,  Geneva  at  the  foot  of  a  mountain;  and,  beyond 
all,  the  monarch  of  mountains  himself,  surrounded  by  his 
majestic  court. 

It  is  speaking  safely,  to  call  the  Lake  of  Geneva  the 
most  beautiful  in  southern  Europe.  It  is  fed  by  the 
Rhone  and  four  hundred  smaller  streams.  The  waters 
of  the  Rhone  are  muddy,  but  become  clear  as  air  before 
they  have  run  far  into  the  lake.  The  waters  are  fifteen 
hundred  feet  above  those  of  the  Mediterranean — what 
a  cataract  they  would  make  !  There  are  a  great  vari- 
ety of  fish,  including  the  delicate  species  of  trout  pecu- 
liar to  such  elevated  waters;  but  I  found  no  evidence  of 
the  trout  with  one  eye,  said  by  Giraldus  to  live  in  Wales. 
The  Lake  of  Geneva  is  smaller  than  many  of  the 
American  lakes,  but  for  that  reason  it  is  more  beautiful. 
It  unites  all  the  features  of  good  scenery,  lake,  river, 
mountain,  tower,  and  town. 

But  you  will  know  nothing  of  mountains,  till  you  go 
beyond  the  limits  of  the  States.  You  have,  I  think, 
seen  the  White  Hills.  Mount  Washington  would  hang 
upon  the  side  of  Mont  Blanc  like  that  small  wart  on  the 
left  of  my  own  huge  nose.  Then  among  these  high 
mountains,  you  have  a  strange  union  of  the  seasons, 
*  Winter  in  the  lap  of  May,'  and 

« On  old  Hyems  chin  and  icy  crown 

An  odorous  chaplet  of  sweet  summer  buds  ^ 

Is,  as  in  mockery  set.* 


BOSTON   MERCHANT. 


125 


We  next  went  to  Chamouni,  of  which  you  can  knovf 
nothing  from  my  description.  This  wonderful  valley, 
like  my  own  wit,  was  for  a  long  time  undiscovered;  and 
in  either  case,  when  the  discovery  was  made,  every  one 
praised  it.  it  is  said  that  Cuamouni  was  not  known  to 
the  Swiss  themselves,  till  it  was  explored  and  described 
seventyfour  years  ago,  by  Mr  Windhara  and  the  trav- 
eller Pocoke. 

So  small  is  the  Genevese  territory,  that  in  two  miles 
we  entered  Savoy.  We  passed  along  a  fertile  valley, 
through  which  runs  the  river  Arve,  and  the  vale  be- 
comes narrow  at  Bonville  and  Cluse,  villages  of  little 
note.  Next,  we  entered  a  rude  cleft  in  the  mountain 
just  wide  enough  for  a  road  on  the  bank  of  the  river. 
Then  we  remarked  a  very  charming  water-fall,  called 
as  I  think,  Nant  d'Arpenas,  only  eight  hundred  feet 
high.  At  Saint  Martins  we  rested  for  the  night,  and  dis- 
charged in  the  morning  the  voiture  to  take  a  char-d- 
bane,  a  queer  machine  upon  low  wheels;  the  driver  sits 
with  his  side  toward  the  horse,  as  in  the  jaunting  car  of 
Dublin,  where  ten  Irishmen  are  drawn  by  one  horse,  to 
visit  the  Dargle  on  Sundays. 

Herefrom,  the  Arve  is  a  torrent,  at  some  seasons 
sweeping  over  the  valley.  Looking  up  among  the 
mountains,  you  may  see  human  habitations,  in  spots  that 
seem  inaccessible  but  to  the  eagle,  for  these  moun- 
taineers build  on  every  level  spot  that  would  offer  'coign  of 
vantage  '  to  a  swallow.  At  this  season  they  were  gather- 
ing, as  fodder,  the  leaves  of  the  ash  and  the  elm.  Yet 
these  Swiss  are  so  contented  in  poverty,  that  it  is  sel- 
dom they  leave  their  own  beautiful  country;  but  all 
highlanders  are  strongly  attached  to  their  barren  hills. 

<  And  as  a  babe  whom  scaring  sounds  molest, 
Clings  close  and  closer  to  its  mother's  breast. 
So  the  loud  whirlwind  and  the  tempest's  roar. 
But  bind  them  to  their  native  mountains  more.' 
11* 


mmm 


126 


LETTERS    FROM    A 


We  crossed  the  Arve  on  a  bod  of  pebbles  a  mile  over, 
in  a  place  that  seems  to  have  been  once  a  lake.  Near  to 
this  is  a  monument  erected  to  perpetuate  the  fame  of  a 
Russian,  who  ventured  too  near  an  avalanche,  and  was 
crushed. 

Next,  came  the  narrow  dell  that  was  to  lead  us  to 
Chamouni.  It  was  but  a  small  fissure  in  a  mighty  moun- 
tain wrought  by  that  geological  demon,  a  great  convul- 
sion of  nature.  Halfway  up  the  sides  are  a  few  slen- 
der pines,  a  covert  for  the  chamois  and  vulture.  On 
mounting  to  a  great  height  (for  the  pass  is  too  narrow 
for  a  road  on  the  bank)  we  beheld  the  famed  and  inde- 
scribable Chamouni.  In  length  it  is  fifteen  miles,  and 
its  breadth,  is  about  three.  There  is  no  green  so  rich 
as  that  of  the  valley,  and  it  is  well  contrasted  with  the 
almost  black  colour  of  the  fir  and  pine  on  the  moimtains. 

The  valley  is  the  abode  of  plenty,  as  well  as  of  peace. 
Some  of  the  many  villages  are  at  the  very  foot  of  the 
glaciers,  that  like  enormous  icicles  hang  down  to  the 
valley.  Chamouni  is  four  thousand  feet  above  the  sea. 
In  such  altitudes  the  summers  are  not  long,  and  the 
nights  are  always  cold,  yet  here  wheat  is  seldom  hurt. 

You  must  come  here  to  find  good  milk;  it  js  better 
than  strawberries  and  cream.  A  very  white  and  deli- 
cate honey,  also,  much  esteemed  in  Paris,  is  produced 
in  this  valley.  But  of  late,  the  bees  do  not  much  toil  for 
ungrateful  masters,  for  the  gains  of  the  inhabitants  are 
derived  from  trnvfllers.  \  , 

There  are  th'-oe  large  hotels,  one  as  large  as  the  3Ial- 
brook,  called  the  London  Hotel,  so  that,  of  course, 
Mr  Bull  is  quite  oi  home,  in  the  rich  pasturage  at  Cha- 
mouni. 

There  are  five  glaciers  descending  into  the  valley, 
A  glacier  is  a  huge  body  of  ice,  a  frozen  cataract;  and  one 
is  twelve  miles  in  length.    Fears  have  been  felt  that  tTiey 


BOSTON    MERCHANT. 


127 


illey. 


will  in  time  so  increase  as  to  till  the  valley,  inasmuch  as 
more  sleet  and  snow  fall  iiniiuully,  (for  this  is  no  place 
for  rain)  than  is  incited  in  a  year;  but  some  philosophers 
differ  from  Saussurc,  and  believe  that  the  snow  jxlono, 
falling  in  avalanches  from  the  congealed  to  the  melting 
regions,  is  enough  to  save  the  valley.  Your  chamois 
hunter  will  say  too,  that,  taking  one  year  with  another, 
the  ice  remains  in  about  the  same  quantity,  and,  that 
while  two  glaciers  are  growing,  the  others  are  shrinking. 
At  the  Priory,  (which  is  the  i)rincipal  village,)  we  pro- 
cured guides  to  ascend  Montanvert,  and  visit  the  icy 
sea.  The  ascent  on  a  mule  took  me  a  couple  of  hours, 
and  my  companion  [)referred  to  walk.  The  winding  road 
was  through  noble  forests  of  fir  trees,  such  as  you  have 
seen  in  Franconia;  and  shattered  trunks,  and  displaced 
masses  of  granite,  shewed  the  vestige  of  many  an  ava- 
lanche. 

Emerging  from  the  forest,  I  was  obliged  to  walk. 
Having  ascended  another  mile,  we  met  two  English  la- 
dies, carried  between  two  poles,  as  father  and  I  have 
carried  hay  in  New  England.  Sometimes  we  would  stop 
to  rest  ourselves,  and  look  down  upon  that  happy  valley. 
Having  reached  the  summit,  we  came  to  a  hut,  that  is 
called  a  temple,  and  dedicated  after  the  manner  of  the 
French  of  the  Republic,  a  la  jyature.  Here  a  book  is  kept, 
in  which  travellers  write  their  names,  and  as  much  of  them- 
selves as  they  are  willing  should  be  known .  On  this 
occasion  1  spoke  respectfully  of  my  companion,  and  gave 
a  good  character  of  myself.  This  is  but  seven  thousand 
feet  above  the  Mediterranean,  and  is  as  high  Jis  I  have 
ever  ascended.  But  here  the  scene  is  circumscribed  by 
mountains  still  higher;  not  even  Chamouni  is  visible, 
and  our  sole  reward  for  all  this  '  toil  and  trouble  '  wai  a 
view  of  the  Mer  de  Glace,  or  sea  of  ice.  It  is  as  if  a 
torrent,  fifteen  miles  long,  and  one  third  as  broad,  weio 


128 


LETTERS   FROM    A 


frozen  in  a  state  of  impetuous  motion;  or  youraay  fancy 
the  waves  of  the  sea  frozen,  when  running  high,  and  you 
will  have  something  like  the  Mer  de  Glace.  It  comes 
from  Mont  Blanc,  and  is  but  an  icicle  on  the  hoary  chin 
of  that  venerable  monarch. 

The  waves  are  of  a  light  pea  green.  There  are  cracks 
in  the  ice  three  thousand  feet  in  depth,  and  few  men  that 
fall  in,  return  to  describe  the  bottom;  for  these 

'  Are  matters  deep  and  dangerous.' 
Around  the  Mer  de  Glace  are   several  perpendicular 
rocks,  culled  needles,  which  have  a  resemblance  to  the 
forms  of  Gothic  architecture,   as  the  pinnacles  of  the 
Duomo,  at  Milan.  >    •'  .        -* 

We  went  down  the  mountain  near  the  outlet  of  the 
icy  sea,  which  forms  the  Glacier  des  Bois,  down  which 
the  avalanches  were  falling  with  tremendous  uproar. 
Having  descended  half  way,  we  were  surrouvided  by 
children  bearing  fruits  and  other  refreshments.  At.  the 
bottom  ofthis  glacier  there  is  an  arch  one  hundred  feet 
high,  that  reminded  me  of  Fingal's  cave  in  Staffa;  and 
from  this  rushes  the  river  Arveiron,  like  a  prisoner  es- 
caped.      ,  V 

The  scenery  in  these  parts  is  admirably  well  describ- 
ed in  the  novel  called  Continental  Adventures.  I  know 
not  the  author,  but  to  one  who  has  been  in  Switzerland, 
it  is  a  most  attractive  book.  Manfred,  also,  will  be  read 
by  such  with  u  double  interest.  It  is  a  magnificent 
drama,  the  splendid  scenery  is  before  you,  and  the  ima- 
gination of  the  poet  has  created  tht  -est. 

The  summit  of  Mont  Blanc  is  fifteen  thousand  feet 
the   sea.     The  first    persons    who    reached    it 


aoove 


were,  as  I  think,  several  guides,  in  1786,  one  of 
whom  strayed  from  the  rest,  and  piosed  the  night  at  an 
elevation  of  twelve  thousand  fee'..  Thus  he  acquired  a 
fever,  of  which  he  was  cured  by  a  physician,  Dr  Pac- 


BOSTON   MERCHANT. 


129 


card,  whom,  from  gratitude,  he  conducl?-!  to  the  sum- 
mit. Saussure  forthwith  came  from  Gcnevii,  to  ascend 
the  mountain,  but  was  prevented  by  a  fail  of  snow  and 
hail.  On  the  next  year,  with  an  army  of  eighteen  guides, 
he  reached  the  summit,  described  his  journey  in  a  very 
interesting  manner,  and  connected  his  name  like  Han- 
nibal's, Napoleon's,  Byron's,  yours,  and  mine,  with  the 
everlasting  Alps. 

We  returned  to  our  inn  with  so  many  newly  acquired 
impressions  and  images,  that  the  day  seemed  to  have 
been  as  long  as  a  week;  yet  it  was  one  of  those  fine  days 
in  autumn,  so  rare  here,  and  so  common  in  a  certain 
country,  where  they  have  huskings  and  Indian  summers. 
At  the  hotel  we  dined,  with  a  mountain  traveller's  ap- 
petite, on  a  shoulder  of  chamois.  This  is  a  timid  ani- 
mal, of  the  size  of  a  large  Iamb,  inhabiting  the  most  rug- 
ged and  least  accessible  parts  of  the  Alps.  Linne  has 
unjustly  ranked  it  with  goats;  though  like  them  it  leaps 
from  rocl^to  rock  with  wonderftil  confidence  and  agility* 
It  will  stand  upon  a  very  pinnacle,  as  I  have  seen  a  goat 
taught  to  do  in  Calcutta,  where  the  bearded  gentleman 
is  placed  upon  a  single  small  round  of  wood,  and  others 
are  gradually  inserted  under  him,  till  he  is  as  high,  and 
as  unsafe,  as  a  rogue  in  office  on  a  change  of  adminisr> 
tration.        v    :  , 


il' 


'*■/!, 


NO.  IV. 


-*«<-■ 


There  is  another  animal,  called  the  ibex,  ri».ked 
also  among  goats,  and  considered  the  original  of  the 
whole  tribe.  He  frequents  the  most  rugged  part  of  the 
mountains,  and  his  mutton  is  not  to  be  had  without  toi'. 


•■.■^>i.,« 


130 


LETTERS   FAOM   A 


I    '■■ 


if 


I  } 


I 


Xr 


v« 


and  danger;  for  to  the  most  wary  there  is  danger  in  the 

upper  regions  of  the  Alps.     The  expert  hunters  are  from 

the  upper  Valais.     Read  their   character  as  described 

by  Manfred.     I  should  like  to  have  some  such  lapidary 

lines  upon  my  own  grave — 

Thy  humble  virtues,  hospitable  home. 
And  spirit  patient,  pious,  proud  and  free, 
Thy  self  respect  grafted  on  innocent  thoughts. 
Thy  days  of  health  and  nights  of  sleep,  thy  toils 
By  danger  dignified,  yet  guiltless — hopes 
Of  cheerful  old  age,  and  a  quiet  grave 
-.^,  '  With  cross  and  garland  over  its  green  turf,   ,  ' 

And  thy  grand-childrens'  love  for  epitaph. 

In  this   route   we  remarked  a  good   many  ?»oi''  oi^s 
necks — some  httnging  hideously  down,  like  the  '■■:.^ 
pelican,  and  others  just  beginning  to  swell,  like  an.  al- 
derman's doubiP  chin — I  never  beheld  one  without  rais- 
ing a  hand  to  my  own  neck,  to  see  if  all  waa  right — and 
a  pretty  woman  in  these  regions,  runs  to  a  glass  in  the 
morning,  (though  our  ladies    do  this)  to  see  if  that  foe 
to  beauty  has  not  assailed  her  during  the  night.     In 
some  parts,  (though  we  found  none  such)  it  is  said  that 
goitres  are  so  common  that  it  is  an  unfortunate  singu- 
larity to  be  without  one,  and  a  young  woman  who  is  so 
unlucky,  of  course,  can  havf^^but  few  admirers.  I  myself 
remember  a  town  in  New  England,  where  every  man  has 
a  humpcd-back,  and  I  lived  so  long  among  these  drom- 
edaries^ that  I  was  ashamed  of  my  own  shapes 

We  returned  from  this  excursion  Geneva,  laden 
with  specimens  of  minerals  and  plants,  and  we  had  frag- 
ments of  rock  enough  to  macadamize  Flag  AUe}  h\ 
a  day  or  two,  we  left  Geneva  and  passed  round  tne 
northern  side  of  the  lake,  which  is  studded  with  a  great 
many  picturesque  villages  cii  the  bays  and  inlets. 

Nion  i$  one  of  the  principal  towns  of  this  canton,  sit- 
uated  at  the   foot  of  a  hill,  with  a  fine  view  of  the 


ons 


aden 

fras;- 

Ir, 

id  tne 

great 


n,  sit 
)f  the 


BOSTON   MERCHANT. 


131 


lake,  Geneva  at  one  end,  Vevay  at  the  other,  and  the 
magnificent  Alps  in  front.  When  you  come  to  this 
country,  you  can  only  look  on  and  wonder — there  is 
nothing  like  it  on  earth — and  in  America  you  have  nev- 
er seen  anything  that  even  remotely  resembles  the  cul- 
tivated hills  and  valleys  of  the  canton  de  Vaud.  But 
you  can  find  it  painted  in  the  Nouvelle  Heloise. 

From  this  we  passed  through  several  villages  to  Lau- 
sanne, a  very  old  town,  and  like  Boston,  built  upon 
three  hills.  The  climate  is  mild  and  healthy,  but  the 
town  has  not  many  attractions,  except  the  urbanity  and 
hospitality  of  the  citizens.  A  stranger  needs  no  other 
letter  of  recommendation  than  a  good  countenance,  and 
n  tolerable  ooat.  Let  me  say  I  was  Well  received.  I 
boarded  in  a  private  family,  for  a  small  sum,  and  was 
forthwith  made  known  to  all  whom  I  wished  to  knc  .v. 
Many  English  reside  here  to  learn  French  and  economy. 

The  prospect  from  the  terrace  of  the  cathedral  is  one 
of  the  most  charming  in  Switzerland  The  country  is 
rich  in  vines,  and  the  grapes  were  better  than  I  had  ev- 
er seen  before.  The  vineyards  are  at  the  foot  of  the 
mountains  near  the  lake.  The  mountains  rise  like  the 
walls  of  an  amphitheatre,  and  spread  above  the  vine- 
yards a  dark  circle  of  pines — on  the  other  side,  are  the 
rocks  ofMellierie,  and  in  the  distance,  the  shining  gla- 
ciers of  the  Haut  Valais.  There  is  a  peculiar  adapta- 
tion to  the  country  around  Clarens;  of  the  persons  and 
events,  that  Rousseau  has  connected  with  it.  Clarens  is 
a  league  beyond  Vevay,  but  I  saw  no  house  good 
enough  for  the  husband  of  Julia,  nor  any  pleasure  ground 
worthy  of  much  praise.  Here  the  lake  is  narrow,  and 
the  character  of  its  scenery,  and  of  the  mountains,  was 
that  of  the  Highlands  of  Scotland,  but  it  is  not  easy  to 
rove  about  here  without  having  the  mind  filled  with  the 
creations  of  Rousseau,  wretch  as  he  was,  by  his  own 
confessions. 


> 


.iM^»,.* 


132 


LETTERS   FROM   A 


(    i 


! 


From  MoudoD  in  the  Pays  de  Vaud  we  pursued  our 
route  over  fine  pastures  filled  with  herds  of  cattle,  and 
through  forests,  richer  in  autumnal  hues  than  I  had  seen 
except  in  America.  We  passed  some  villages  that  had 
Roman  remains,  as  walls,  and  a  column  that  seemed  to 
have  formed  part  of  the  portico  of  a  temple.  This  I 
think  was  Avanche,  called  by  the  Romans  Aventicum. 
From  this  we  went  to  Murten,  pleasantly  situated  on  a 
lake  of  the  same  name,  and  ascended  a  hill  from  which 
we  saw  the  lake  Neufchatel,  and  from  this  we  went  to 
Berne,  where  we  arrived  late  at  night.  Berne  is  sit- 
ed on  an  eminence,  remarkably  well  built,  paved, 
ti.-d  surrounded  by  water.  There  ■'re  about  ten  thou- 
sand people,  and  the  climate  is  so  healthy  that  one  in 
four  attains  to  the  age  of  seventy.  The  things  at  Berne 
most  worthy  of  notice,  are  the  cathedral,  the  luseum, 
and  the  walk  on  the  ramparts  which  are  sixty  feet  high. 
A  student  once  was  carried  over  the  ramparts  by  a  frac- 
tious horse;  the  horse  was  killed  but  the  rider  escaped 
with  a  broken  leg.  There  is  a  monument  to  mark  the 
spot  of  this  adventure.  Berne  is  the  best  cultivated  of 
all  the  cantons;  from  this  walk  there  is  one  of  the  best 
views  in  Switzerland.  The  lofty  mountain  Grindelwald 
is  distinctly  seen,  and  in  this  canton  are  some  of  the 
highest  of  the  mountains. 

At  Berne  there  is  an  annual  meeting  of  the  sharp 
shooters,  and  of  the  wrestlers.  You  and  I  can  remem- 
ber when  a  tight  lad  in  New  England  was  not  afraid  of 
a  fall  upon  the  turf,  on  town  meeting  days — but  there  is 
scarce  a  relic  of  these  good  old  times,  unless  in  a  few 
towns  towards  the  Cape,  where  two  parishes  sometimes 
send  their  champions  to  wrestle.  Here  they  sputter 
in  an  execrable  lingo,  though  they  write  good  German. 


BOSTON    MERCHANT. 


133 


led  our 
le,  and 
id  seen 
lat  had 
jmed  to 
This  I 
nticum. 
ed  on  a 
1  which 
went  to 
is  sit- 
paved, 
in  thou- 
t  one  in 
t  Berne 
luseum, 
et  high. 
^  a  frac- 
escaped 
tiark  the 
vated  of 
le  best 
delwald 
e  of  the 

le  sharp 
remem- 
afraid  of 
there  is 
in  a  few 
metimes 
r  sputter 
jerraan. 


Two  leagues  from  Berne  is  the  celebrated  institution 
visited  by  all  travellers,  where  young  men  are  instructed 
in  the  principles  of  agriculture. 

From  Berne,  w«  journied  delightfully,  roving  about 
somewhat  at  random,  admiring  the  picturesque  scenery 
and  costume,  for  some  of  the  dresses  of  the  peasants  are 
so  arranged  as  to  resemble  the  wings  of  a  butterfly. 

Lucerne  is  at  the  head  of  its  lake,  where  the  river 
issues  from  it.  It  is  on  the  great  route  from  Germany 
to  Milan,  by  St  Goihard.  The  walls  are  pretty,  and 
they  are  carving  a  large  lion  in  the  rock  to  commemo- 
rate the  Swiss  guard,  who  were  so  faithful  to  Louis  XVI, 
and  who  were  massacred  for  their  fidelity.  We  went 
up  a  terrace  planted  with  trees,  to  get  a  view  of  the  lake, 
and  its  shores.  It  is  a  beautiful  lake  surrounded  by 
magnificent  mountains. 

There  is  an  eminence  near,  from  which,  it  is  said, 
there  is  a  most  striking  scene;  but  my  muscles  were 
too  rigid  from  the  ascent  of  the  Montanvert,  to  climb 
other  mountains.  I  went  to  the  lake  of  Zoug,  and  al- 
so to  the  chapel  of  Tell,  the  hero  whom  you  have  seen 
fretting  '  his  little  hour  upon  the  stage;'  the  people  here 
speak  of  him  revererently,  and  it  is  not  safe  to  express 
doubts  of  the  story  of  the  apple.  I  crossed  the  lake  sit- 
ting bolt  upright  in  the  middle  of  a  hollowed  log,  rowed 
by  my  guide,  and  his  sister,  who  broke  the  stillness  of  n 
beautiful  evening  and  the  charm  of  the  splendid  shores, 
by  their"  intolerable  jargon;  and  as  they  knew  no  French, 
I  could  not  well  inquire  the  way  to  an  inn  but  by  signs. 
Zoug  is  the  capital  of  the  smallest  and  most  republican 
of  the  cantons.  There  is  no  nobility;  all  vote  at  nine- 
teen, and  when  married,  have  a  portion  of  land  near  the 
town.  This,  as  well  as  Lucerne,  is  a  Catholic  canton. 
In  the  Catholic  cantonsj^you  will  find  the  most  churches, 


12 


ii, 


134 


LETTERS   FROM    A 


in  the  Protestant  the  better  crops;  from  which  I  suppose 
that  the  Catholics  have  too  many  holidays. 

We  reached  the  lake  of  Zurich  late  at  night.  The 
borders  have  a  great  many  neat  villages  and  churches 
but  the  lake,  taking  it  as  Hamlet  considered  his  father, 
^  for  all  in  all, '  is  less  picturesque  than  that  of  Lucerne. 
It  is  thirty  miles  long  and  three  broad;  elevated  twelve 
hundred  feet  above  the  sea.  It  has  excellent  fish.  In 
summer,  from  the  melting  of  the  snows,  the  waters  some- 
times overflow  the  banks.  We  followed  the  shore  to 
Zurich,  and  could  see  at  a  glance  that  this  was  one 
of  the  richest  and  most  populous  of  the  cantons.  The 
language  is  German,  the  religi  on  Protestant.  The  town 
is  at  the  lower  end  of  the  lake  on  both  sides  of  the  riv- 
er. It  is  ancient,  and  in  he  museum  are  remains  that 
are  referred  to  the  time  of  Vespasian.  It  was  much  ex- 
posed in  the  wars  of  the  French  revolution,  and  was 
occupied  by  French,  Austrians,  and  Russians,  but  I 
think  little  damage  was  done,  except  in  the  death  of 
Lavater,  who  was  killed  by  a  French  soldier  while  of- 
fering money  for  the  ransom  of  a  friend. 

There  is  a  good  library,  and  the  herbarium  of  Ges- 
ner  and  his  monument. 

My  journals  are  nothing  in  this  part  of  the  route. 
They  only  enable  me  to  state  that  from  Zurich  we  went 
to  Constance,  through  the  centre  of  the  canton,  and 
through  Winterthur,  where  we  passed  a  night  and  day. 
The  lake  of  Constance  is  one  of  the  most  celebrated  in 
Switzerland.  It  is  certainly  the  largest,  and  may  truly 
be  called  a  grand  expanse  of  water.  But  the  borders, 
though  cultivated,  are  too  flat  for  the  picturesque. 

At  Constance  there  are  not  many  sights.  There  is 
the  town  house  where  the  Councils  were  held.  The 
old  house  where  John  Huss  was  taken,  is  designated  by 
a  grotesque  human  head  carved  over  the  door.     Con- 

4-  ■  ■  i  - 


«■ 


BOSTON    MERCHANT. 


135 


stance  like  all  towns,  men,  and  things,  has  had  its  good 
and  ill  fortune.  It  is  now  somewhat  decayed,  having 
neither  manufactures  nor  commerce.  It  pertains  to  the 
Duke  of  Baden. 

From  it  we  pursued  the  lesser  lake  of  Constance,  or 
Zeller  See,  to  the  banks  of  the  Rhine,  which  we  follow- 
ed to  SchafThausen.  These  banks  are  beautiful  in  the 
extreme,  fertile,  bordered  by  mountains  with  here  and 
there  the  ruin  of  a  Gothic  or  feudal  castle.  But  with 
the  exception  of  the  castles  you  may  see  as  good  river 
scenery  in  the  United  States. 

SchafThausen  is  the  capital  of  the  canton  of  that  name. 
It  is  a  meaa  looking  town  with  a  population  of  about 
seven  thousand,  who  are  supported  by  the  manufacture 
of  silk)  and  by  travellers  who  come  to  see  the  falls  of  the 
Rhine.  The  river  even  just  below  the  town  is  a  little 
drawn  into  eddies  by  the  cataract,  which  is  perhaps  the 
finest  in  Europe.  It  is  variously  described.  In  gene- 
ral the  fall  seems  to  be  about  fifty  feet,  though  afler  the 
melting  of  the  snows  it  is  thought  to  be  eighty.  On  the 
lefl  bank  is  an  old  castle,  from  whence  there  is  a  plat- 
form built  in  the  very  spray  of  the  falls,  and  from  it  is 
a  descent  by  a  flight  of  steps.  The  colour  of  the  water 
is  a  sea  green,  and  this  seems  to  be  communicated  to 
the  foam.     The  fall  is  divided  by  a  rock  into  two  sheets. 

We  crossed  over  and  returned  to  Schaflliausen  on  the 
other  bank,  through  vineyards  where  we  had  grapes  for 
nothing;  when  we  Irfl  the  Rhine  on  the  left  to  go  to 
Basle.  We  went,  however,  in  the  valley  of  the  river, 
and  at  length  rejoined  it,  before  we  came  to  SaufTem- 
berg,  where  we  rested,  and  the  next  morning  entered 
Basle  the  largest  town  in  Switzerland,  capable  of  hold- 
ing one  hundred  thousand  people,  though  its  population 
is  but  twelve  thousand.  It  is  built  on  both  sides  of  the 
river,  partly  in  Baden,  but  principally  it  belongs  to  the 


li  .  ( 


LETTERS   FROM   A 


r  (  \ 


'J 


Swiss.  The  Cathedral  is  the  principal  building,  and  con- 
tains the  remains  of  Erasmus,  whose  festina  lente  has 
made  so  many  idle  school  boys. 

From  Basle  yor  may  imagine  me  at  Coir  or  Chur, 
the  capital  of  the  Grisons. 

It  is  in  a  rich  plain  about  two  miles  wide.  The  moun- 
tains that  surround  Coir,  are  not  so  high  as  some  of  the 
other  Alps,  and  they  have  not  perpetual  snow,  but  they 
are  lofly  and  grand.  The  town  is  on  a  rock,  and  the 
fortifications  were  made  before  the  invention  of  gun- 
powder. The  inhabitants  are  republican  in  habits  and 
feeling,  and  only  one  or  two  officers  have  salaries.  I  saw 
some  of  the  military  that  had  served  in  America,  France, 
and  England.  There  is  little  commerce;  some  wine 
and  silks  come  from  Italy,  grain  from  Tyrol  and  Sua- 
bia,  and  cloth  from  England,  France,  and  Germany. 

The  language  is  generally  German,  though  in  some 
villages  they  speak  the  language  founded  on  the  Latin, 
that  was  spread  in  the  twelfth  century  over  the  south  of 
Europe,  and  sung  by  minstrels  and  troubadours. 

The  Grisons  are  not  included  in  the  Swiss  cantons, 
but  there  is  a  league  of  interest  and  amity  betweeh  them? 
and,  as  may  be  said  of  you  and  me,  one  would  not,  with- 
out at  least  a  remonstrance,  see  the  other  pounded. 
We  were  sorry  to  leave  Coir.  The  people  are  a  sim- 
ple and  kind  race;  their  country  is  richly  diversified, 
with  corn  fields,  vineyards,  forests  and  pastures.  Their 
wine  is  excellent  and  abundant;  and  if  a  traveller  comes 
to  see  grand  and  romantic  scenery,  he  may  be  sat- 
isfied in  the  Grisons. 

But  as  all  friends  must  part,  we  went  along  the 
beautiful  Rhine  towards  the  lake  of  Constance,  turning 
a  little  out  of  the  route  to  visit  Feldkirch,  an  Austrian 
town  of  eight  thousand  people.  They  also  are  kind  and 
simple.     The  women  wear  a  queer  fur  cap,  and  red 


te 


BOSTON    MERCHANT. 


137 


Stockings,  which  are  exhibited  above  the  clocks.  From 
this,  our  route  was  in  a  wide  plain  on  the  bank  of  the 
Rhine,  where  the  scenery  was  but  tame;  it  was  like 
claret  after  sparkling  champaign. 

We  arrived  without  strange  adventure,  for  the  second 
time,  at  the  lake  of  Constance ;  and  embarked  the  next 
day  for  Lindau,  in  Bavaria.  It  is  a  city  of  some  mag- 
nitude, on  an  island  in  the  lake,  and  joined  to  the  shore 
by  a  bridge.  It  is  strongly  fortified.  From  Lindau,  we 
took  coach  over  a  charming  country,  in  appearance 
somewhat  English,  to  Ulm,  on  the  Danube. 

I  begin  to  grow  impatient  of  these  cramped  Swiss 
journals,  as  well  as  you — and  am  about  to  taper  off,  as 
old  G.  said  when  he  drank  but  a  pint  of  whiskey  at  a 
time.  Give  your  fancy  the  rein  and  spur  and  imagine 
me  at  Como,  situated  at  the  foot  of  a  considerable 
mountain,  (on  which  is  the  ruins  of  a  castle)  and  sur- 
rounded by  lesser  hills.  It  is  on  the  Lake  of  Como, 
for  in  most  parts  wherein  we  journied  lake  and  town 
are  associated  like  man  and  wife ;  though  lake  and 
lady  are  sometimes  ruffled.  The  dialect  is  barbarous, 
even  to  cruelty.  The  environs  very  interesting, — and 
were  much  praised  by  Pliny  the  younger,  who  was  a 
native  of  Como.  Many  Milanese  have  country  houses 
on  the  borders  of  the  Lake,  where  I  saw  also  the  house 
of  the  persecuted  Queen  of  England. 

We  embarked  in  a  courier's  boat  for  an  excursion  up 
the  lake  and  mountains,  and  the  shores  became  more  cul- 
tivated, and  had  more  villas  and  mansions.  After  some 
hours  we  came  where  the  waters  of  the  lake  were  agitat- 
ed without  any  very  obvious  cause,  though  it  is  thought 
to  be  by  the  current  of  the  river  Adda.  We  went  in 
this  course  a  day  and  night,  stopping  occasionally  to 
get  provision  from  the  shore.  Near  the  head  the  shores 
are  low  and  sedgy,  and  the  inhabitants  as  sallow  as  the 


12* 


138 


LETTERS    FROM   A 


S    ! 


people  about  the  Pontine  marshes.  The  villages  at 
night  are  deserted — and  no  person  who  cares  much 
about  waking  again,  would  sleep  in  the  low  lando.  Yet 
there  are  inns,  where  the  people  come  to  feed  travellers 
by  day,  and  retire  at  night  to  higher  and  safer  places  in 
the  mountains. 

From  the  top  of  the  lake  we  chartered  a  cart  with 
two  horses  for  the  village  of  Chiavenna  in  the  Grisons, 
where  there  is  little  remarkable  but  a  rock  of  asbestos 
with  fibres  long  enough  for  a  small  web. 

From  this  we  crossed  the  Alps,  which  is  more  diffi- 
cult to  do  here  than  at  Mont  Cenis.  The  mighty  and 
liberal  Emperor  of  Austria  was  here  making  a  new  road 
to  rival  that  of  the  Simplon.  The  road  of  the  Simplon 
will  in  a  few  years  be  utterly  impassable — a  small  annual 
sum  would  keep  it  in  repair,  but  the  policy  seems  to 
be,  to  let  it  go  to  ruin,  that  there  may  be  few  roads  to 
Italy  except  those  held  by  its  master. 

We  stopped  to  breakfast  after  travelling  fifteen  miles. 
It  was  in  a  small  valley  4000  feet  above  the  sea,  where 
there  was  better  grazing  than  we  had  lately  seen.     It 
was  now  very  cold,  about  the  base  of  Mount  Spleugen, 
whose  top  was  covered  with  snow.      It  snowed  oome- 
what  during  the  day,  which  was  early  in  September. 
Seven  or  eight  hours  of  patient  labor  brought  us  to 
Spleugen,  a  garrison  upon  the  mountain.     Herefrom  we 
began  to  descend  and  went  down  at  a  swift  trot,  render- 
ed safe  by  a  railing  at  the  side  of  an  excellent  road  which 
however,  was  not  quite  finished  ;  some  thousand  work- 
men were  then  employed  upon  it.     We  dined  at  a  small 
village  in  the  Alps  where  the  Saint  Gothard  road  inter- 
sects the  Spleugen.     Several  hundred  mules  and  horses 
pass  the  village  daily  ;  or  to  come  round  numbers,  300 
in  a  day. 


^^' 


..^■.    ,^:    -^^. /iftt,-.-. 


BOSTON   MERCHANT. 


139 


The  road  from  hence  is  impassable  for  carriages,  be- 
ing only  a  foot  path  dug  in  the  side  of  the  mountains,  or 
made  by  the  hoofs  of  the  pack  horses  ;  with  many  pass- 
es so  wild  that  we  dismounted  to  walk  through  them. 
The  route  was  along  a  torrent  ;  one  of  the  principal 
branches  of  the  Rhine.  The  Rhone  and  Danube  also 
rise  in  this  Canton. 

Towards  evening  we  came  to  a  village  where  they 
speak  the  Roman  language,  and  from  this  we  entered 
a  wild  pass,  which  we  could  not  go  through,  without 
a  man  at  each  horse's  head  to  prevent  the  animal  from 
stumbling  or  taking  fright.  But  I  have  nearly  done  with 
mountains.  Had  I  "tver  dreamed  that  my  notes  would 
have  given  you  pleasure,  they  should  have  been  more 
worthy — they  were  but  loosely  made,  to  serve  only  as 
remembrances  to  myself  My  succeeding  letters  will  be 
more  from  plains  and  cities. 


NO.  V. 

Sir — At  the  close  of  my  last  letter  I  had  gone  from 
Como,  over  the  Alps  ;  and  I  returned,  I  have  forgotten 
how.  You  may  have  been  surprised  in  former  letters 
that  I  wrote  so  little  of  men  and  so  much  of  things. 
But  consider,  inquisitive  sir,  that  while  the  men  of  all 
countries  are  much  alike,  the  Alps  are  sui  generis. 

In  justification  of  my  strange  silenc  concerning 
men,  be  pleased  to  remember,  that  my  observations  on 
men  and  manners  were  seldom  put  down  in  writing;  and 
now,  when  I  would  recall  them  from  the  mass  of  strange 
things  in  my  memory,  they  serve  me  aller  the  manner 
of  Glendower's  spirits,  and  will  not  come,  for  the  jour- 


/ 


V 


•4* 


t. 


I  i 


140 


LETTBRS   FROM   ▲ 


nal  you  well  know  has  little  but  landscape  painting  and 
a  melancholy  daub  it  is.  As  my  notes  were  penned  in  dif- 
ferent tours,  it  is  not  easy  for  me  always  to  connect  them 
in  what  Tony  Lumpkin  calls  a  *  concatenation  accord- 
ingly.' Be  pleased  to  supply  a  few  links  in  the  chain, 
and  to  imagine  me  again  leaving  Lyons,  at  five  o'clock 
in  the  afternoon,  and  afler  crossing  the  Rhone  entering 
that  plain  I  have  mentioned  before.  The  first  town  that 
I  remember  to  have  entered  was  Bourgoin,  almost  en- 
closed by  a  circle  of  snow-clad  Alps. 

We  travelled  in  darkness  to  Pontebeau-voisin,  where 
we  remained  three  hours  under  the  inspection  of  the 
ofRcers  of  the  customs.  We  then  gradually  left  the 
plains  of  Dauphine  for  the  mountains  of  Savoy,  which, 
having  ascended  for  some  distance,  we  came  to  a  grand 
work  of  Napoleon  and  of  Emmanuel  I.  of  Sardinia.  It 
is  a  passage  through  a  rock  1000  feet  long.  The  moun- 
tain under  which  it  passes  seems  designed  b'  nature  to 
separate  kingdoms,  but  by  means  of  this  <ge  the 

road  runs  near  to  the  base. 

Emerging  from  this  we  came  to  a  wild  glen  with  the 
road  winding  along  by  a  dashing  torrent.  Here  is  the 
waterfall  that  had  high  praise  from  Rousseau.  The 
gradual  extension  of  the  glen,  and  the  shady  trees  set  on 
the  banks  of  the  torrent  mark  the  approachto  Chamberry. 
This  city  is  in  the  midst  of  the  Alps,  in  a  small  and  fertile 
valley.  It  has  about  twelve  thousand  inhabitants,  and 
is  a  pleasant  city  to  behold.  Here  Rousseau  passed,  as 
he  says,  lea  plus  belles  ajinees  de  sa  vie,  and  a  low  life 
it  was. 

On  leaving  the  city,  we  passed  the  fine  caserne  for 
three  thousand  men,  built  by  iVapoleon,  and  then  the 
house  of  Deboigne,  who  commanded  the  troops  of  Tip- 
poo  Saib.  We  then  came  to  a  valley  hardly  a  mile  in 
width,  but  covered  with  vines,  for  in  this  neighborhood, 


^^ 


{m 

«. 

V 

1 

■r 

4 

' 

1       -"^ 

^ 

'ii  K 

• 

■•■,?^. 

ti-U 

BOSTON    MKRCHANT. 


141 


viz.  at  Montmelian,  are  made  the  best  wines  of  Savoy. 
In  the  same  valley,  ailcr  having  crossed  the  Isero,  we 
continued  to  travel  until  it  seemed  that  we  had  reached 
the  end,  at  the  foot  of  a  conical,  well  wooded  hill,  where 
we  found  tho  village  of  Aiguebelle. 

From  this  we  plunged  still  deeper  in  the  Alps,  with  a 
mountain  on  each  side  seven  thousand  feet  high,  some- 
times naked  and  rough,  and  at  others  partially  cultivat- 
ed. The  valley  became  narrower,  and  we  crossed  many 
times  the  little  stream. 

The  villages  that  we  saw,  were  mean,  and  their  inhab- 
itants filthy,  small,  and  poor;  one  third  of  them  had 
goitres.  From  St  Michel,  where  we  slept,  we  went  on 
in  the  same  glen,  but  tired  of  following  it  for  two  days. 
We  were  gradually  rising,  though  it  scarcely  appeared 
so  from  the  increased  height  of  the  upper  mountains. 
Fruit  trees  disappeafed  altog<  iier,  and  the  cold  and  the 
nature  of  the  soil  seem  to  permit  nothing  to  grow,  but 
what  the  French  call  Foin.  At  Lans-le-bourg,  we  pre- 
pared to  ascend  Mont  Cenis,  at  whose  base  it  stands. 
The  mountains  here,  arc  far  less  picturesque  than  in  the 
vicinity  of  Mont  Blanc,  and  it  seems  strange  that  peo- 
ple can  be  so  much  attached  to  barren  hills — but  the 
inhabitants  under  the  soflest  climate  in  France  are  not 
more  cheerful  than  these  mountaineers,  which  shews 
that  happiness  depends  more  upon  the  mind,  than  upon 
mountains.  The  village  has  about  two  thousand  people, 
and  the  effective  men  are  occupied  seven  months  in 
twelve  in  clearing  the  road  from  rocks,  ice,  and  snow. 

Before  the  splendid  route  of  Napoleon,  all  coaches 
were  taken  in  pieces,  and  carried  on  mules  over  the 
mountains,  while  the  passengers  went  in  chairs — but 
now  you  may  ride  in  a  coach,  or  on  a  ^  bay  trotting 
horse,'  above  the  common  elevation  of  the  clouds.  The 
fame  of  this  road  is  better  than  that  of  battles. 


r 


f  I 


«#(:. 


T 


142 


LETTERS   FROM   A 


•I 


I  ■     ^ 


%'    i 


Did  you  ever  see  that  antiquated,  but  honourable  en- 
gine the  *  great  plough'  in  successful  operation?  Large 
bodies  move  slowly,  and  with  many  cattle;  and  our 
ascent  was  like  the  progress  of  the  plough,  for  to  our 
six  horses  were  added  nine  mules — not  a  mule  of  them 
was  needed,  but  the  post  horses  are  in  the  hands  of  the 
governmen;,  which  is  willing  to  make  an  honest  penny 
by  the  hire  of  a  mule.  There  are  frequent  hospices, 
where  mountaineers  rest  to  give  succour  to  travellers 
overtaken  by  storm. 

After  five  hours  of  continual  ascent  we  reached  the 
top  of  Mont  Cenis,  a  clear  lake  of  water,  and  a  con- 
vent built  by  Charlemagne,  and  re-estabhshed  by  Na- 
poleon. The  convent  is  now  occupied  as  a  barrack, 
where  our  passports  were  examined.  The  top  of  Mont 
Cenis  is  flat.  The  fishermen  find  burnt  wood  at  the 
bottom  of  the  lake,  and  hence  its  •name  Mom  cinereus. 
The  borders  of  the  lake  are  but  beginning  to  be  green, 
though  the  summer  is  past  in  the  plains  below;  here  it 
is  not  long  enough  to  produce  a  harvest.  This  plain  on 
the  mountain  is  about  one  league  over. 

From  this  summit  the  valleys  open,  and  the  streams 
run  eastward ;  the  descent  of  two  hours  is  like  the  en- 
trance to  another  and  a  more  beautiful  world.  The 
charming  valley  six  miles  below;  the  olives,  the  vines 
and  the  clear  skies,  marked  our  entrance  to  Italy,  and 
gave  me  an  indescribable  sensation,  an  elevation  of 
mind  such  as  one  feels  in  listening  to  a  glorious  strain 
of  music. 

The  road  wound  around  a  snow-clad  mountain,  whose 
dreary  summit  and  sides  added  a  double  charm  to  the 
boundless  and  sunny  plain  below.  From  this  part  Han- 
nibal may  have  pointed  to  hi''  army  the  rich  reward  of 
all  their  labours,  and  here  it  is  easy  to  conceive  the 
ardor  of  the  northern  tribes,  from  snows  and  forests,  to 


BOSTON    MERCHANT. 


143 


break  over  the  barriers,  into  the  garden  ol  the  world. 
On  the  descent  we  were  shewn  on  the  pinnacle  of  a 
rock  a  Chapel — JSotre  Dame  de  la  JS'eige,  with  an  image 
in  some  repute  in  the  way  of  miracles. 

After  two  hours  of  rapid  travelling,  we  arrived  at 
Susa,  the  first  city  in  Piedmont,  which  seemed  so  near 
from  the  top  of  Cenis.  It  is  at  the  base  of  the  Alps, 
and  at  the  commencement  of  a  plain  that  extends  to  the 
Adriatic.  We  were  here  on  the  Dora,  that  unites  at 
Turin  with  the  Po.  We  were  struck  with  the  softness 
of  the  air,  like  the  breeze  of  a  cool  summer  evening. 
We  beheld  many  of  the  inhabitants  sitt  ng  in  front  of 
thoir  houses,  at  work,  or  singing  and  conversing.  One 
of  the  first  things  that  marked  a  change  of  country,  was 
th?  bread,  about  as  large  as  the  little  finger,  and  two  feet 
in  length.  We  left  Susa  at  day-break,  and  passed  on  the 
left  bank  of  the  river  through  villages  of  little  note,  and 
vineyards  with  the  vine  in  festoons  from  tree  to  tree. 
The  only  house  or  place  worthy  of  note  except  a  few 
picturesque  monasteries  in  the  mountains,  is  Rivoli,  the 
Royal  House  of  Pleasure  for  Victor  Amadous  11.  who, 
having  reigned  many  years,  abdicated  his  little  king- 
dom in  favour  of  his  son,  and  afterwards  had  leisure  to  re- 
pent his  folly,  in  close  confinement. 

The  traveller  is  reminded  that  he  is  in  Italy  by  the 
number  of  little  chapels  and  the  reverent  manner  in 
which  the  postillion  in  passing  them  raises  his  hat. 
There  is  also  a  marked  difference  ox^  language,  which, 
though  but  half  Italian,  is  much  more  mellifluous,  (do 
you  like  honey?)  than  the  Fr;.nch.  The  people  also, 
are,  as  I  think,  distinguished  for  good  looks,  high  fore- 
heads, black  eyes,  and  eyebrows  arched.  Some  travel- 
lers pretend  to  discover  mischief  in  their  countenance, 
but  I  was  less  sagacious. 


r 


f 


■  t 


'4 


iMi  LBTTBRS   FROM   A 

We  approached  Turin  by  a  broad  and  level  road, 
shaded  by  trees,  and  entered  by  the  splendid  street  Dora 
Grossa.  It  is  on  the  Po,  and  one  of  the  prettiest  cities 
in  the  world.  The  city  is  full  of  palaces.  It  is  in  a 
rich  plain,  and  surrounded  by  Boulevards,  which  make 
a  fine  promenade.  On  the  north  are  those  snowy  Alps, 
that  were  once  some  barrier,  but  cannot  now  keep  the 
Goth  fiom  Italy.  The  city  has  about  sixty  thousand 
people.  At  their  head  is  Carlo  Felice,  who  is  hand- 
some enough  for  a  king,  but  as  plain  a  man  as  was  ever 
carved  in  marble.  He  is  surrounded  by  a  good  many 
men  with  muskets  and  fur  caps;  his  mental  resources 
are  not  so  great  in  themselves,  that  he  ever  misses  an 
opera,  and  sometimes  he  has  been  known  to  applaud  in 
the  right  place,  but  in  general  those  parts  of  the  per- 
formance that  give  most  delight  to  the  children,  give 
also  the  greatest  pleasure  to  the  king.  He  has  some 
other  tastes  in  unison,  and  is  seldom  to  be  seen  without 
a  bit  of  candy-^but  how  much  better  is  that  than  to 
chew  tobacco  !  To  tell  you  all  that  I  know  personally 
of  kings,  which  according  to  the  proverb  quoted  by 
Montrose  to  Jenny  Deans,  are  'kittle  cattle  to  deal ' — 
I  once  beheld  the  Majesty  of  England,  and  I  shall  car- 
ry till  I  die,  the  remembrance  of  a  portly,  graceful,  and 
placid  old  gentleman.  I  have  seen  Ferdinand  VII, 
who  looks  even  worse  in  reality  than  he  is  represented 
on  a  dollar.  The  King  of  the  Sicilies  is  a  weak  man, 
and  looks  like  many  others  of  that  large  class.  But  the 
most  sagacity  that  I  ever  beheld  in  a  royal  eje,  twink- 
led under  the  deep  brows  of  the  King  of  Sweden. 
These  are  all  the  kings  that  I  remember  to  have  seen, 
except  Rufus,  and  Rio  Rio,  at  the  Sandwich  Island. 

The  Piedmontese  are  in  dress  and  manner  almost 
French ;  they  are  larger  than  the  Savoyards,  and  have, 
as  I  think,  higher  foreheads,  and  better  faces. 


j-a^iirr  i,„i 


^.,:::.:s&:gteir::. ..-,-,  ..tri^r 


lOSTON   MERCHANT. 


145 


Tliere  are  about  Turin  few  sights,  except  general  pros- 
pects, which  are  full  of  variety.  The  Superga  is  what  all 
travellers  are  bound  to  see  and  describe.  It  is  a  church 
and  mausoleum,  erected  by  Victor  Amadee,  more  than 
an  hundred  years  ago,  in  consequence  of  a  vow  to  the 
Madonna  to  be  performed  on  the  stipulated  condition 
that  she  would  raise  the  seige  of  Turin,  for  a  good 
Catholic  always  exacts  from  his  saint  a  quid  pro  quo. 
The  Madonna  in  consequence  inspired  the  besieging 
general  with  the  spirit  of  committing  blunders,  and  sent 
Prince  Eugene  to  relieve  the  city.  This  monument  of 
piety  is  on  a  mountain  of  the  ordinary  elevation  of  the 
clouds,  and  is  therefore,  if  not  a  castle  in  the  air,  a  tem- 
ple in  the  skies. 

The  climate  at  Tjrin,  is  like  a  pretty  lady — ^varium 
et  mntabile  semper ' — that  is,  it  is  subject  to  agreeable 
changes  of  temperature  ;  and  blows,  like  the  traveller 
in  the  fable,  hot  and  cold  in  a  breath.  The  Alpine 
wind  pierces  to  the  very  marrow,  but  the  '  sweet  south' 
makes  the  traveller  throw  off  his  roat,  as  you  will  find 
recorded  in  fable,  for  I  hope  vou  read  vEsop. 

I  was  six  days  at  Turin,  L  -o  ill  from  exposure  and 
fatigue,  that  I  wore  a  blister  up«'iim\  breast  as  large  and 
twice  as  warm  as  flannel  vest.  Wlicn  uc  left  the  city, 
we  crossed  the  Po  on  a  new  bridge  erecteti  by  Buona- 
parte, (for  in  Italy  he  never  omitted  in  his  name  the  u.) 
Our  route  was  through  a  country  of  vineyards,  with  the 
Superga  always  in  view  till  we  came  to  Asti,  fan  d  for 
wines  and  for  the  birth  of  Victor  Alfieri.  He  is,  in 
Italy  the  great  name  of  the  age,  but  hia  tragedies  are 
but  seldom  represented  at  Vienna  and  oth«r  IIIh  ., 
courts,  for  they  have  a  lofty  spirit  of  freedom  that  in- 
spires fear  to  the  master  and  hope  to  the  slave. 

From  Asti  we  went  over  the  same,  beautiful  plain, 
bounded  only  by  the  Alps,  and  Appenines,  to  Alexan- 
13 


M 


M 


mmm 


■Hi 


HPiP 


146 


LETTERS  FROM  A 


li:  . 


i; 


dria.  And  the  same  plain  continues,  but  with  no  trees 
and  fewer  vines,  to  Marengo,  a  place  that  has  had  some 
influence  on  the  affairs  of  Europe. 

Next  we  came  to  the  Appenines,  which  are  without 
the  forests,  snows,  and  deep  ravines  of  the  Alps.     Yet 
they  are  picturesque  and  wild.      The  village  of  Gavi 
is   in  the  very  heart   of  these  mountains,  and  has  a 
citadel  that  commands  the  pass.     From  this  we  began 
to  climb  the  Bochetta,  the  highest  mountain  between 
Turin  and  Genoa,  and  which,  to  go  up  and  down,  makes 
a  distance  of  twentyfour  miles.      We  entered  a  defile 
noted  as  a  lurking  place  for  robbers,  and  I  never  in  my 
life  saw  a  better  ground  to  say  stand  to  a  true  man. 
We  passed  safely  through,  though  we  sometimes  look- 
ed back  in  the  expectation  of  seeing  a  brigand,  and  I 
think  that  1  was  a  little  disappointed  in  meeting  no  ad- 
venture.    A  robber,  thought  I,  would  not  want  my  life, 
and  as  to  my  purse,  '  what  can  he  do  to  that  ?'  fon  I  had 
in  hand  my  last  Napoleon,  and  was  going  to  Webb's  to 
raise  supplies.     Your  robber  is  in  Italy  a  man  of  con- 
sideration, the  theme  of  minstrels,  the  favorite  of  the 
fair  ;  and  if  half  what  I  have  heard  sung  of  him  be  true, 
I  could  turn  Robin  Hood  myself. 

This  road  is  paved  the  whole  distance,  and  the  pave- 
ments arc  like  some  that  I  remember  in  Boston  before 
the  time  of  our  Pericles,  who  is  about  to  assume  the 
post  of  Plato.  A  man  of  moderate  waist  may  get  ov>  v, 
the  mountain  pavement  alive,  if  he  will  tie  his  handker- 
chief about  his  middle  and  grasp  with  both  hands  the 
pillar  of  the  coach  ; — but  for  a  man  half  as  fat  as  an 
aldermao,  there  is  no  hope^ — he  may  at  once  lie  down 
and  die. 

But  on  the  summit  of  the  Bochetta  is  a  sight  worth 
all  danger  from  robbers  and  dislocations.  As  far  as  the 
vi&ible  horizon  extends    the  sea  is  studded  with  sails. 


IIIMMMHWll  I 


BOSTON    MERCHANT. 


147 


The  shores  of  the  sea,  and  the  base  of  the  mountains 
are  coloured  with  the  pale  green  of  the  olive,  which 
makes  a  fine  appearance  in  contrast  to  the^  dark  pine 
and  chestnut  above.  Between  the  mountain  and  the 
sea,  is  the  valley  of  Polcevera  spotted  with  white  vil- 
lages and  little  churches  that  peep  out  from  the  forests 
of  olives. 

Descending  rapidly  we  came  to  Campo  Marone,  and 
entered  the  olive  trees  that  continue  to  Genoa.  A  point 
of  land,  that  seemed  to  run  some  distance  into  the  sea 
was  rounded  and  we  saw  Genoa,  all  at  once,  as  a  scene 
when  the  curtain  is  raised  at  the  theatre.  It  is  on  a  small 
bay,  at  the  very  base  and  on  the  sides  of  mountains 
that  confine  it  in  a  narrow  space.  It  seems  to  be  a  city 
of  palaces,  built  upon  alleys,  too  narrow  for  carriages. 
The  mountains  are  barren,  but  more  than  half  way  up 
are  churches,  castles,  and  monasteries.  There  are 
many  fountains  which  in  these  narrow  and  shaded  streets, 
give  a  refreshing  coolness  to  a  summer  noon.  The  port 
is  made  by  two  moles  and  is  safe  from  the  sea,  though  I 
have  seen  ships  driven  from  their  anchorage  by  winds. 
We  lodged  at  the  Jamaica  Hotel,  kept  by  a  man  who 
had  lived  in  New  York,  and  I  think  we  had  a  room  aid 
din  ner  at  five  francs  a  day.  ^  ' 


V 


NO.  VI. 


Sir — Many  of  the  palaces  had  historical  or  allegori- 
cal figures  painted  on  the  outside,  and  more  had  orange 
trees  in  marble  vases,  growing  on  the  terraces  and 
roofs. 


us 


LETTERS   FROM   A 


I 


1 


Our  first  walk  was  to  the  postoffice,  situated  ou  the 
square  of  the  Amorous  Fountains,  where  I  found  a  slip 
of  paper  intimating  that  I  had  five  letters  at  Naples, 
which  would  be  sent  on  reception  of  the  postage;  for 
the  king  of  the  Sicilies  never  goes  upon  tick  with  the 
king  of  Sardinia. 

We  thence  descended  towards  the  port  in  a  little 
lane  having  several  pretty  fountains,  to  the  custom 
house,  which  was  thronged  with  Jews,  Englishmen, 
Spaniards,  Frenchmen,  Turks,  and  Genoese. 

Near  this  is  the  Bank  of  St  George,  and  the  Porto 
Franco^  where  there  is  more  noise  than  commerce — yet 
in  and  about  it  is  the  great  mart,  exchange,  or  rialto,  of 
Genoa  the  proud,  whose  merchants  were  princes.  Here 
are  no  drays,  but  what  in  other  cities  is  drawn  by  horses, 
is  here  carried  by  men»  The  largest  hogsheads  are 
suspended  from  several  poles  which  rest  on  the 
shoulders  of  the  porters,  whose  ofiice  is  no  sinecure. 

Commerce  is  manacled  with  a  thousand  petty  restric- 
tions. The  smallest  package  cannot  be  landed  without 
strict  scrutiny — and  much  plucking  awaits  the  wight 
who  is  caught  with  a  bunch  of  cigars  in  his  hat.  I  had 
occasion  to  carry  from  an  American  brig  a  ^mall  bag  of 
dollars,  which  the  rough  Piedmontese  guard  looked 
into  with  all  his  optics,  like  a  parrot  into  a  hazle  nut  or 
a  philosopher  into  a  mystery,  till  he  saw  the  nature  of 
the  contents,  when  he  uttered  huono. 

At  this  same  Porto  Franco  I  ascended  the  parapet 
which  runs  round  the  harbor  in  a  circuit  of  several 
miles.  In  some  parts  it  is  sixty  feet  above  the  water, 
which,  in  a  high  sea,  breaks  over  it.  It  is  a  beautiful 
walk,  walled  in,  about  two  feet  on  each  side,  and  it  is 
four  feet  wide.  From  this  is  a  good  view  of  the  ship- 
ping in  the  harbor,  which  is  generally  as  black  as  tar 
can  make  it,  for  few  vessels  are  neatly  painted.    There 


V' 


Mtimmm 


BOSTON    MERCHANT. 


149 


for 


estric- 
itbout 
wight 
I  had 
)ag  of 
ooked 
nut  or 
ture  of 


were  two  ordinarj^  American  brigs,  which,  on  holidays, 
excited  much  attention.  It  is  very  easy  to  see  the  su- 
periority of  our  marine^  in  a  foreign  port.  I  remember 
that  one  of  our  larger  ships  of  war  was  riding  here  in  a 
gale,  and  dragged  the  anchors  if  she  did  not  part  a  ca- 
ble. A  thousand  people  collected  to  the  leeward  to 
see  her  go  ashore,  but  in  half  a  minute  the  topsails 
were  filled,  and  the  ship  was  passing  out  of  the  harbor 
like  a  bird. 

The  shipping  in  the  harbor  was  composed  of  Dutch 
galliots,  English  barks,  Baltic  vessels,  laden  with 
stock-fish,  Genoese  vessels  of  all  kinds,  half  a  dozen 
Turks  from  the  Black  Sea,  and  felucca  boats  from  Mar- 
seilles, Leghorn,  and  even  more  distant  ports.  The 
Italians  are  religious  as  well  as  gallant.  Their  ships 
are  named  from  St  Michael,  St  Anthony,  St  Charles, 
St  Peter,  and  others,  more  than  are  to  be  found  in  the 
calendar;  and  also  from  La  Bella  Maria,  Catarina, 
Isabella,  Maddalena,  et  ccteras. 

J>om  the  custom  house  (how  easy  it  is  to  forget!  what 
seems  to  my  memory  the  custom  house,  may  be  the 
guard  or  police  house)  we  turned  abruptly  to  the  Icfl  in 
a  narrow  street  with  small  shops  of  silks,  jewelry,  cut- 
lery, &c.  Fixed  prices,  in  English,  drew  me  in  to  buy 
a  silk  cravat,  where  I  paid  a  tax  upon  my  ignorance, 
twice  the  value  of  the  goods,  and  lost  thirty  per  centum 
in  making  change. 

This  street  brought  us  to  a  square,  where  the  foun- 
dations of  a  large  opera  house  are  laid,  and  which  was 
the  haunt  of  fiflty  obstreperous  coachmen.  They  open- 
ed upon  us  like  a  pack  of  hounds — *  A  coach!  a  coach! 
gentlemen,  goes  tomorrow  for  Florence,  Rome,  Milan, 
Vienna,  anywhere.'  Having  stopped  a  moment  at 
Gravier's,  the  only  Bookstore  we  could  find — not  half 
13*  ' 


v^ 


150 


LETTERS   FROM    A 


r/i 


as  large  as  Hilliard  and  Gray's,  we  Walked  down  the 
noble  Strada  Baibi,  the  widest  in  Genoa,  and  one  of 
the  richest  in  the  world;  near  the  end  of  it  we  came  to 
a  ravine  of  the  mountain,  at  which,  is  the  wall  of  the 
city,  but  beyond  it  are  large  suburbs.     The  first  house 
beyond,  is  the  magnificent  D'oria  Palace.     It  is  a  good 
embloni  of  Genoa — dilapidated,  though  splendid.     It  is 
deserted — knock  at  the  gate  and  an  old  servant  will  tell 
you  that  the  prince  is  at  Rome,  and  that  there  is  noth- 
ing in  the  house  to  see.     It  is  built  on  the  shore,  and 
from  the  mole  is  one  of  the  most  imposing  of  edifices. 
Passing  round  the  harbor  (in  the  segment  of  a  circle, 
as  the  schoolmaster  says)   we   went  under  a  beautiful 
gate,  near  to  which  rises  the  light  house,  a  stately  square 
pillar  built  upon  a  rock.     Here,  (on  this  road)  the  Ma- 
jesty of  Sardinia  takes  a  daily  ride,  to  get  an  appetite 
for   dinner.      A   great   many  times   did   I  meet    him 
riding  by  the  light  house,  drawn  in  an  English   coach 
by  si.\  horses,  guided  by  a  postillion  in   red.     Twice 
did  I  dofl'  my  beaver,  not  to  the  man,  but  the  magistrate, 
and  witho'it  return  of  civility,  though  once  the  monarch 
slept.     At  the  third  meeting   I   cut  him  to  the  bone, 
whistled,  and  looked  neither  to  the  right  nor  left. 

On  some  holiday  an  hundred  or  two  bells  were  ring- 
ing— the  air  was  filled  with  a  din  of  which  I  had  never 
heard  the  like.  On  this  day  the  people  were  out  in 
their  gayest  dresses,  and  we  beheld  some  that  would 
have  been  pretty  in  rags.  The  women  wear  a  white 
veil  over  the  head  and  shoulders,  and  it  is  worn  with  a 
very  good  effect,  for  there  are  not  many  beautiful  wo- 
men. But  at  mass,  and  the  opera,  are  to  be  seen  a  few 
beings  of  another  order — with  faces  that  a  painter  might 
study  till  he  grew  mad,  before  he  could  imitate,  and 
much  less  could  he  flatter  them. 


•kMMMMMn 


BOSTON    MERCHANT. 


15  1 


At  the  opera  the  singing  was  good,  and  the  dancing 
admirable.  People  talk  very  well  upon  the  dignity  of 
the  drama,  but  I  am  not  ashamed  to  confess  that  I  like 
a  good  ballet.  You  can  hardly  conceive  without  see- 
ing a  large  company,  how  interesting  it  is — and  how 
well  they  can  dance  the  story  of  Blue  Beard,  and  other 
classic  legends. 

There  is  a  little  book  of  travels  in  Italy,  the  Diary  of 
an  Ennuyee,  that  is  excellent.  A  sort  of  mystery  is 
kept  over  the  writer,  whom  we  are  left  to  suppose  is 
trying  to  get  away,  in  travelling,  from  an  uneasy  mind, 
but  is  exhauster?  in  the  race,  and  dies  at  Autun  on  her 
return.         -  • 

Now,  surely,  I  could  wish  the  lady  no  ill;  but  I  felt 
an  emotion  of  disappointment  in  seeing  in  a  late  paper, 
that  she  is  still  alive  and  making  another  book  to  gull 
simples  like  me  out  of  their  compassion  for  a  female 
dying  of  a  broken  heart,  who  is  as  well  and  cheerful 
as  good  health  and  spirits  can  make  her.  I  have  no 
wish  that  she  had  died  to  support  the  credit  of  her  diary, 
though  such  a  consummation  would  have  much  upheld 
the  interest  of  the  book.  In  these  days  all  are  travel- 
lers; and  whoever  travels  must  make  a  book,  or  at  least 
prose,  like  me,  in  a  newspaper.  The  interest  of  the 
book  is  much  increased,  if  to  the  descriptions  can  be 
added  a  little  incident  and  character.  The  Continental 
Adventures,  is  in  effect,  nothing  but  a  book  of  travels, 
in  which  the  descriptions  are"  surpassingly  excellent, 
and  Anastatius  the  Greek,  is  a  book  of  travels,  that  all 
who  go  to  the  east  should  read  as  a  guide;  and  those  who 
stay  at  home  should  read  for  knowledge  and  pleasure. 

Why  did  not  I  keep  a  journal  for  a  fat  folio? — I  might 
have  got  fame  and  money,  or  if  I  could  get  money  I 
could  have  fame  by  bribing  the  critics.  But  the  mass 
of  observation  that  might  have   fallen  on  the  head  of 


.Ill      •  inmmi^mm 


152 


LETTERS    FROM   A 


fi,^ 


|!  H' 


/ 


u 


the  public  in  one  cataract  of  a  folio,  is  now  dripping 
iiway  in  weekly  letters.  I  could  have  had,  with  proper 
encouragement,  that  is,  with  any  encouragement,  a  col- 
lection of  my  own  voyages;  anu  if  I  were  a  printer,  like 
you,  I  would  collect  them  even  now,  print  them  in 
foolscap,  and  bind  them  in  sheep. 

Genoa  was  founded  by  Janus,  at  least  so  it  is  said — 
and  it  is  true  as  history  in  general.  It  has  some 
manufactures  of  silk,  paper,  coral,  filagree  work  in  gold, 
&c.  There  is  a  university  with  a  library,  and  the  usual 
apparatus,  and  academies  of  De8ign,Painting,  Sculpture, 
Engraving,  and  Architecture.  There  is  also  a  school 
for  the  Deaf  and  Dumb,  where  about  fifty  are  instruct- 
ed in  some  useful  art,  and  a  few  of  them  even  in  the 
sciences.  > 

I  somewhere  saw  a  complete  collection  of  the  insects 
of  Liguria — *  flies  and  butterflies — a  pin-stuck  race,' 
and  beetles  and  bugs  without  name  or  number. 

There  is  a  most  splendid  *  House  of  the  Poor,'  where 
twentytwo  hundred  persons  can  be  comfortably  lodged. 
In  the  interior  of  this  vast  pile,  is  a  church  that  has  a 
little  gem  of  Michael  Angelo's  sculpture — a  has  relief 
representing  the  Blessed  Virgin  and  the  dead  body  of 
our  Saviour.  It  is  delicate  enough  for  a  seal.  Not  far 
from  this  palace  of  the  poor,  is  (on  a  continuation  of 
the  Strada  Balbi)  a  delicious  promenade — called,  I  think, 
Aquaverda — on  a  hill  with  fountains,  surrounded  with 
hedges  of  roses.     "       ^  '       • 

The  aqueducts  are  called  in  the  guide  book,  chefs  d'- 
muvres  dc  patience,  and  deserve  the  appellation.  They 
were  above  fifty  years  in  building,  and  carry  wafer  six 
leagues  over  mountain  and  valley. 

In  writing  of  the  Port  Franc,  I  forgot  to  mention 
that  neither  soldiers,  priests,  nor  women,  are  allowed 
to  enter  it.     Why?  the  laws  of  Genoa  have  a  great  ab- 


BOSTON   MERCHANT. 


153 


horrence  for  smuggling,  and  a  brave  Piedmonlesc  sol- 
dier would  die  rather  than  be  searched;  the  church  has 
as  little  humility,  and  a  lady's  veil  should  be  as  much 
respected  as  the  red  cloth  or  the  black. 

Genoa  has  about  ninety  thousand  people,  without  in- 
cluding a  numerous  military  or  marine. 

Before  we  could  go,  it  was  needful  to  have  the  Amer- 
ican Consul's  nanr.e  upon  our  passports.  Two  dollars 
is  the  established  fee  of  office.  But  as  I  had  a  passport 
in  English,  from  the  secretary  of  the  commonwealth, 
and  had  been  called  upon  to  translate  till  I  was  tired  of 
describing  my  person  and  points,  I  got  a  new  one  in 
French.  Then  we  went  to  the  Tuscan  Consul,  who 
gave  permission  for  us  to  sail  for  Leghorn, — note  well, 
when  you  travel,  that  before  you  visit  another  state  you 
must  have  the  signature  of  its  representative.  How 
would  it  puzzle  a  Yankee  pedlar  to  have  his  cart  stop- 
ped at  the  frontiers  of  Connecticut  for  the  want  of  a 
passport;  in  Europe  he  could  not  go  ten  miles  without 
one.  •        , 

On  an  evening  soon  after  the  first  of  the  year,  we 
went  on  board  a  felucca  boat  (much  less  than  a  chebac- 
co)  for  Leghorn.  Midships  (as  sailors  say)  was  a  fire- 
place where  the  sailors  boiled  their  macaroni — and 
'  chock  aft '  a  cabin  in  which  two  men  might  lie  at  length. 
We  laid  in  for  the  voyage  two  flasks  of  wine,  two  chick- 
ens, and  a  piece  of  what  sailors  call  salt  junk;  and 
having  of  this  more  than  we  could  eat,  acquired  the 
favor  of  the  crew  by  giving  away  What  we  could  not 
use. 

The  wind  was  in  the  shoulder  of  our  sail  wafting  us 
swiftly  out  of  the  port  and  bay,  though  we  put  in  at  a 
little  inlet  until  morning.  We  beheld  in  the  sky  what 
you  philosophers  call  a  phenomenon,  and  such  as  was 


154 


LETTfillS    FROM    A 


I' 


'., 


seen  by  Constantine.  The  firmament  was  of  a  deep 
blue,  except  in  one  bright  place  in  the  west,  where  there 
was,  for  half  an  hour,  a  luminous  and  distinct  cross,  like 
a  catholic  crucifix.  It  was  a  cloud  gilded  by  the  sun 
aftor  he  had  set  to  us  on  the  surface. 

We  had  heard  such  praise  bestowed  on  the  scenery 
between  Genoa  and  Pisa,  that  we  had  some  wish  to  see 
it — but  having  been  tossed  so  much,  rest  was  desirable; 
and  rest  we  could  have  in  the  felucca,  which  crept  along 
the  shore,  and  would  have  sought  some  little  harbor  on 
the  slightest  commotion  of  the  sea.     In  point  of  inter- 
est I  cannot  think  we  lost  much,  for  we  coasted  along 
the  base  of  mountains  abruptly  rising  from  the  sea, 
covered  with  olives,  and  enlivened  with  villages  and 
churches.     Spezia  is,  if  I  rightly  remember,  about  half 
way,  and  here  the  vessels  for  Genoa  that  come  from 
unsafe    ports,   are   subjected  to  a  dismal   quarantine. 
The  town  is  at  the  head  of  a  gulf,  sheltered  towards  the 
south  by  a  pretty  island.     We  ran  down  to  Leghorn  in 
about  thirty  hours,  entering  the  port  at  night.     The 
port  is  made  by  a  mole,  but  the  anchorage  is  an  open 
road.     There  is  an  inner  port  for  boats,  where  there  are 
a  great  many  from  cities  as  distant  even  as  INaples. 
Several  turns  among  ship  yards  brought  us  to  a  space 
where  there  were  four  or  five  good  statues  in  bronze,  in 
an  obscure  place,  and  soon  after  we  entered  the  main 
avenue  of  the  city.     We  were  not  vexed  with  delay  at 
the  custom  house,  but  barely  opened  our  trunks  and 
shut  them.     We  lived  for  two  days  at  the  Royal  Oak 
Hotel,  at  a  moderate  price.     Leghorn  is  a  great  com- 
mercial mart,  and  trade  is  not  shackled  with  many  vex- 
atious restrictions.     The  streets  are  well  filled  with  a 
busy   population,   and  the  stores    are    some  of  them 
splendid.     There  are  many  Jews  and  Turks. 


BOSTON    MERCHANT. 


156 


There  are  few  soldiers  in  sight — not  more  thn  i  enough 
for  a  moderate  town  guard,  and  there  are  not  half  so 
many  cripples,  vagabonds,  and  priests,  as  at  Genoa. 
The  race  of  men  ai.d  the  herds  of  cattle  are  also  better. 
We  did  not  in  Genoa  see  a  woman  of  the  middling 
classes  that  was  very  pretty,  but  in  Leghorn  we  saw 
few  that  were  otherwise.  There  are  many  country 
seats  in  the  vicinity.  The  hats  that  wc  call  Leghorns 
are  made  all  over  the  country,  from  this  to  Florence. 
They  are  manufactured  in  families,  and  pressed  and 
exported  by  the  merchant.  It  seemed  like  New  Eng- 
land, to  see  children  sitting  at  the  door  with  a  roll  of 
straw  before  them.  ^ 

The  English  burying  ground  is  very  neat — having  a 
great  many  monuments  in  excellent  taste.  The  monu- 
ments are  generally  of  white  marble,  pyramids,  cones, 
urns,  columns,  and  plain  slabs.  Smollct  is  buried  here. 
Having  passed  two  days,  we  put  our  money  except  five 
dollars  ior  expenses,  into  a  bill  of  exchange  for  Flor- 
ence, and  early  in  the  morning  entered  the  coach;  we 
gave  for  the  passage  (about  sixty  miles)  two  dollars  and 
a  half,  but  were  struck  with  grief  and  consternation  to 
learn  that  we  had  paid  a  dollar  too  mucii.  There  are 
three  stages  to  Florence,  and  at  eery  one  the  new 
coachman  is  to  have  a  paulo,  about  a  dime. 


NO.  vn. 


Sir — On  the  eve  of  our  departure  from  Leghorn,  we 
took  of  the  coachman  a  dollar,  as  a  pledge,  to  be  forfeit- 
ed if  he  should  not  call  for  us  in  the  morning,  for  few 


iwwrauiHiiPviiMpn 


■— !^'"^^»^Tr' 


166 


LETTERS   FROM   A 


f 


f 


Italians  think  of  keeping  their  word,  when  it  is  at  vari- 
ance with  their  interest;  and  the  charioteer  would  have 
leA  us  without  compunction,  if  he  had  got  a  better  bite 
from  flatter  fishes.  Verbutn  sat  is  an  unsafe  proverb 
here,  where  men  are  changed  from  the  like  of  Regulus, 
who  kept  his  word  at  the  price  of  his  ears;  though  in 
some  countries  I  have  known  the  reverse,  and  seen  a 
rogue  cropped  for  telling  a  lie. 

Before  Apollo  had  harnessed  his  team,  (how  classic 
•we  become,)  ours  was  at  the  door.  Our  companions 
were  a  Spanl^ih  ofiicer,  wife,  and  little  Hidalgo,  all 
lately  wrecked  in  a  felucca,  and  bound  on  a  pilgrimage 
to  Rome.  In  the  led  corner,  in  front,  was  a  young  man 
wrapped  in  reverie,  and  a  camlet  cloak.  Being  very 
polite  in  the  society  of  ladies,  I  began  to  whistle  some 
tune  common  in  N*^w  York,  when  he  of  the  camlet  ask- 
ed me  how  long  since  I  had  lefl  America,  for  he  had 
himself  lived  in  Pearl  Street.  Thus  there  was  a  bond 
of  amity  between  us,  as  he  could  whistle  the  same  tune, 
though  he  would  not  eat  with  me  of  the  same  viands, 
for  he  had  religious  scruples  touching  bacon.  This  good 
Rabbi  gave  me  the  pleasing  intelligence,  that  I  had  paid 
for  the  passage  a  dollar  too  much,  but  shewed  me  how 
to  recover  my  money  and  equanimity  at  Florence,  for 
which  I  thank  him,  for  I  am  getting  stingy,  and  hope  in 
time  to  become  avaricious.  - 

For  a  dozen  miles  beyond  the  gate  of  Leghorn,  Tus- 
cany did  not  appear  very  fertile,  but  as  we  advanced,  it 
became  a  garden.  I  think  that  our  first  stage  was  Ponte- 
dero,  though  I  have  forgotten  the  other  large  towns  on 
the  route.  It  \.  ls  Sunday,  and  the  whole  population 
was  out  on  the  shady  side  of  the  street,  in  holiday  suits. 
Some  of  the  females  wore  a  man's  hat,  of  fur,  and  a 
pretty  face  looks  very  well  under  it;  but  it  is  hazardous 
for  plain  features.     I  thought  it  a  pleasant  state  of  soci- 


I 


■MmMmMi 


BOSTON   MERCHANT. 


167 


at  vari- 
ild  have 
itter  bite 

proverb 
tlegulus, 
tough  in 
[  seen  a 

1^  classic 
npanions 
algO)  all 
Igrimage 
>ung  man 
jing  very 
itle  some 
mlet  ask- 
r  he  had 
IS  a  bond 
me  tune, 
e  viands, 
'his  good 

had  paid 
me  how 

ince,  for 
hope  in 

Tus- 

mced,  it 
Ponte- 
)wns  on 
[pulation 
ly  suits, 
and  a 
Izardous 
of  soci- 


ety,  where  the  promiscuous  assemblage  of  towns  as  large 
as  Salem,  had  not  a  dismal  visage  to  show  off,  but  where 
all  seemed  to  be  under  some  joyous  excitement. 

We  passed  Pisa  on  the  right,  for  which  I  was  sorry, 
as  otherwise  I  should  have  seen  the  Hanging  Tower. 
No  man  knows  what  he  may  come  to,  and  the  tower  has 
a  bad  name;  I  suppose  it  to  be  the  place  where  poor 
rogues  are  hung,  for  the  pleasure  of  rich  ones;  at  least, 
I  have  known  such  places  in  other  countries.  Some 
travellers  call  it  the  Leaning  Tower,  and  think  that  it 
will  stand  an  earthquake,  although  its  line  of  direction  is 
without  the  base.  But  these  things  I  cannot  answer  for, 
as  I  have  not  seen  them;  I  know  them  only  from  de- 
scription, and  all  travellers  are  not  to  be  trusted. 

On  our  route  were  vineyards,  olive  groves,  churches, 
towns,  towers,  and  monasteries.  The  agriculture  is  in 
ridges,  and  the  fields  are  divided  by  ditches.  Some- 
times a  poor  old  man  would  run  along  by  the  side  of  the 
coach,  holding  his  hat  at  the  window  for  coin.  1  am 
generous  to  a  fault,  and  when  he  had  kept  up  this  hob- 
bling gait,  like  the  people  on  the  broken  arches  in  Mir- 
za's  vision  of  the  bridge,  I  would  bestow  upon  him  a 
piece,  of  which  eight  hundred  make  a  dollar.  These 
old  gaffers,  though  they  limped  exceedingly  while  be- 
seeching, Would  walk  back  very  well,  when  they  had 
touched  the  copper.  '       * 

Night  closed  upon  us  ten  miles  from  Florence,  and 
deprived  me  of  the  satisfaction  I  always  feel  in  watching 
the  approach  to  a  new  city;  for  though  I  am  an  old 
traveller,  my  thirst  for  novelty  is  not  aPnuaged,  and  when 
I  approach  a  city  that  I  have  desiicd  to  see,  it  is  with  a 
strong  inclinacion  to  dance  and  clap  my  hands.  The 
first  opportunity  that  we  had  to  dance,  was  at  the  Hotel 
of  the  Four  Nations,  where  wo  slept,  dreaming  of  what 
we  were  to  see  on  the  morrow,  though  I  dreamt  also 
14  ^       ^ 


H 


iiu^uiiisiMA3iwim!:r'...,..,ir^^ti^\,MjM,j.^vw^ijHM^WKamffmaw'wiiwmmmKmBm 


158 


LETTERS    FROM    A 


r  5 


)} 


i 


'tV-i^^ 


"^"*i»teM.Si«!i^;i:, 


that  a  Tuscan  surgeon  was  amputating  my  arm,  and 
awoke  with  pain,  to  find  it  extended  across  an  iron  bed- 
stead. 

We  sallied  out  early,  to  see  in  what  sort  of  a  loch  we 
had  been  landed.  We  came  to  the  beautiful  promenade 
along  the  river  '  Lung  Arno,'  and  paused  to  admire  a 
bridge  of  beautiful  curves  and  proportions.  There  are 
several  other  bridges,  and  one  or  more  covered  with 
shops.  The  river  is  a  shallow  and  muddy  stream,  but  I 
believe  that  there  have  been  found  people  to  praise  it. 

Near  the  centre  of  the  city  rises  an  immense  edifice, 
surmounted  by  a  dome,  to  which  that  of  the  State  House 
is  but  an  egg-shell.  This  is  a  land-mark  all  over  the 
Val  d'Arno.  It  is  the  Cathedral,  and  the  dome  is,  I 
think,  second  only  to  St  Peter's,  and  is  the  father  of  that. 
The  edifice  is  so  vast,  that  it  seems  like  a  mountain, 
carved  in  the  shape  of  a  church.  " 

The  architecture  generally,  in  Florence,  has  more 
strength  than  elegance,  and  the  streets  are  neither  wide 
nor  straight.  In  returning  from  this  early  ramble,  we 
beheld,  at  an  open  market  house,  the  best  statue  of  a  hog 
that  was  ever  chiselled.  It  is  the  image,  in  bronze,  of  a 
lean  porker,  somewhat  advanced  in  years,  rearing  itself 
on  the  fore  legs,  with  an  expression  of  wonder  and  re- 
sentment. It  is  marvellous,  that  such  a  brute  should 
have  found  so  admirable  a  sculptor.  There  was  Mengs, 
the  Raphael  of  the  cats,  but  this  sculptor  was  the  Mi- 
chael Angelo  of  the  swine.  The  original  figure,  of 
which  this  is  a  copy,  we  afterwards  saw  in  the  Gallery, 
but  among  so  many  other  wonders,  that  we  hardly  gave 
it  a  glance.  ;  <« 

After  breakfast,  we  went  to  our  banker's,  took  fifty 
dollars  for  expenses  at  Florence,  and  on  the  road  to 
Rome,  and  put  the  rest  in  a  draft  on  Schultais,  or  Tor- 
Ionia. 


\  .. 


BOSTON   MERCHANT. 


159 


We  passed  but  ten  days  with  the  Grand  Duke,  but 
these  were^very  pleasant,  and  I  could  write  a  volume 
of  reminiscences. 

Travellers  need  much  a  book  of  directionb,  routes, 
distances,  prices,  public  houses,  and  places.  There  are 
many  such  books,  but  none  upon  the  right  plan.  Madam 
Starke's  is  the  most  generally  used;  but  it  is  rather  in- 
tended for  famiHes  than  single  gentlemen.  A  good  book 
of  the  kind,  in  English,  would  sell  like  biscuit  in  a  be- 
seiged  city,  for  a  dollar  a  piece,  and  I  know  a  man  who 
is  ready  to  compile  it  for  a  thousand  dollars,  for  authors 
now-a-days  must  be  moderate  in  their  demands. 

There  are  a  great  many  books  of  travels  in  Ital-  . 
The  best,  perhaps,  is  Corinna;  but  the  Diary  of  an  £!n- 
nuyee,  and  the  books  of  Forsyth,  Lyman,  Carter,  and 
Lady  Morgan,  are  good.  Miladi's  Sketches  are  lively, 
and  often  correct,  though  sometimes  caricatured,  from 
her  solicitude  to  say  smart  things,  in  an  antithetical  way. 
Her  reluctance  to  write  what  others  have  written,  and 
perhaps,  an  ignorance  of  the  classics,  led  her  to  deride 
the  enthusiasm  of  scholars  in  Italy. 

We  passed  the  first  day  in  walking  about  at  random, 
looking  on  the  outside  of  things  in  general.  We  went 
to  the  garden  Boboli,  on  the  declivity  of  a  hill,  rather  a 
trim  place,  but  not  in  the  best  taste  of  gardening.  We 
went  to  the  gate  San  Gallo,  a  good  monument,  and  we 
walked  through  the  Ca^-^^irso,  a  sort  of  park,  several  miles 
along  the  Arno.  It  aboumis  in  old  trees,  gravelled  walks, 
and  secluded  spots,  which,  however,  are  seldom  solitary, 
for  in  a  pleasant  evening,  all  Florence,  '  talking  age  and 
whispering  lovers,'  are  in  the  Cascino. 

We  saw  on  the  heads  of  some  of  the  military,  the  old 
brass  helmet,  glancing  in  the  sun,  with  great  effect.  It 
was  shaped  like  that  on  the  head  of  Achilles,  at  the  Vati- 
can.    We  had  also  the  pleasure  of  heariig  a  large  band 


160 


LETTERS   FROM    A 


of  musicians,  with  only  instruments  like  horns  and  trum- 
pets, though  these  were  much  varied. 

No  man  who  values  his  reputation  for  liberal  curiosity, 
would  visit  London  and  not  see  th«  lions,  or  leave  Flo- 
rence without  giving  some  attention  to  the  Gallery.  I 
hope  you  uuspect  us  of  no  such  crime,  for  on  the  second 
day  we  went  up  the  wide  marble  steps,  to  the  grand  re- 
pository of  ancient  and  modern  art. 

Now,  as  many  parts  of  my  journal  were  committed  to 
loose  leaves,  and  as  I  have  lost  the  leaf  relating  to  the 
Gallery,  what  I  describe  will  be  from  memory,  but  I  do 
not  expect  that  you  will  have  half  the  pleasure  in  read- 
ing that  I  feel  in  recollecting. 

At  the  top  of  the  marble  steps  is  a  vestibule,  where  we 
paused  to  look  at  a  most  spirited  antique  horse,  the  ori- 
ginal of  the  bronze  hog  described  before,  and  some 
buats  of  the  Medici  family. 

At  the  door  of  the  Gallery  is  a  soldier,  in  half  uniform, 
who  gives  to  visiters  the  salute  military,  as  he  ushers 
them  in.  He  is  not  permitted  to  receive  any  gratuity, 
for  it  is  intended  that  the  Gallery  shall  be  free  to  all. 
The  first  view  is  imposing;  you  look  down  an  avenue  as 
long  as  Winter  Street,  upon  a  line  of  Roman  Emperors, 
arrayed  like  the  kings  in  Banquo  s  posterity.  Parallel 
to  this  avenue  is  another,  connected  with  it  by  a  corridor. 

The  series  of  the  Emperors  is  nearl;  complete,  though 
I  do  not  recollect  them  in  detail.  Some  had  been  de- 
prived of  the  most  prominent  feature,  the  nose,  which, 
however,  was  always  restored  from  the  outline  left  in  pro- 
file on  medals  and  coins.  On  the  outer  side  of  the  halls 
are  separate  apartments,  containing  the  more  precious 
monuments  of  the  arts — and  we  had  proceeded  but  a  few 
steps,  before,  turnine  in  at  an  half  open  doer,  we  saw  at 
a  glance  that  we  stood  before  '  the  statue  that  enchants 
the  world.'     The  Venus  is  surrounded  by  other  statues 


5 


"S-WlteHIW. 


BOSTON    MERCHANT. 


161 


itrum- 

iriosity, 
ve  Flo- 
ery.  I 
second 
and  re- 

litted  to 
t  to  the 
l)ut  I  do 
in  rcad- 

'here  we 
the  Gri- 
nd some 

uniform, 
3  ushers 
wratuity, 
3  to  all. 
/enue  as 
iiperors, 
Parallel 
corridor. 
,  though 
een  de- 
,  which, 
\  in  pro- 
;he  halls 
irecious 
|ut  a  few 
|e  saw  at 
nchants 
statues 


of  surpassing  excellence,  and  the  walls  of  the  Tribune 
are  hung  with  paintings,  the  perft  ~tion  of  art  and  beauty; 
but  from  the  best  of  them,  the  visiter  turns  to  take  ano- 
ther and  another  look  at  the  immortal  statue  of  a  modest 
and  love  ly  woman. 

*  You  cannot  love  marble,  but  joy  and  delight 
Will  run  through  your  veins  and  your  heart  at  the  sight, 
And  no  lady  that  lives — not  the  loveliest  one,  .      • 

In  your  fancy,  will  rival  that  lady  in  stone.  . 

It  will  cause  you  to  muse  upon  beauty  in  smiles —  '^ 

It  will  give  you  a  glimpse  of  the  fabulous  isles,  ••'   ,, 

Where  only  delicious  emotions  are  felt. 
Where  Love  will  presume,  and  where  Beauty  will  melt.' 

Do  not  put  the  saddle  upon  the  wron^  ass,  and  attribute 
these  lines  to  me.  "^  . 

Is  it  strange  that  the  Florentines  should  be  a  beauti- 
ful race.'*  The  first  objects  that  meet  their  infant  eyes 
are  forms  of  matchless  beauty  and  grace.  I  little  doubt, 
that  if  the  Grand  Duke  should  substitute  for  his  present 
marbles,  an  hundred  faithful  statues  of  the  Venus, 
Apollo,  and  Graces,  of  the  Hottentots,  that  his  succes- 
sors would  have  a  very  plain  race  of  subjects. 

In  turning  away  from  the  Venus  de  Medicis,  I  fell 
over  a  couple  of  Wrestlers,  striving  after  the  occidental 
method  of  a  Kentuckian  rough  and  tumble.  It  is  an 
admirable  group,  and  should  have  attracted  my  attention 
otherwise  than  by  my  falling  over  it.  Near  it  is  a 
statue  of  a  man  stooping  to  whet  a  knife,  which,  if  it 
were  modern,  might  be  called  Shylock.  There  is 
also  a  little  statue  of  Apollo,  excellent. 

I  should  convey  no  idea  of  the  paintings  of  Raphael, 
Titian,  and  Carlo  Dolce,  by  writing  of  them,  nor  would 
it  be  possible  to  describe  the  statues  and  other  objects  in 
the  Gallery,  where,  while  we  lay  at  Florence,  we  passed 
at  least  three  hours  daily 

14* 


mmm 


■M'mnH 


163 


LETTERS    PROM    A 


il 


( 


tJ 


< 


/ 


The  Pitti  palace  has  a  great  many  wonders.  The 
first,  in  our  estimntion,  was  the  Venus  by  Canova,  who 
has  brought  from  marble  the  most  beautiful  forms,  since 
the  best  age  of  sculpture.  It  is  strange  that,  with  such 
models  before  him,  he  did  not  throw  by  his  chisel  in 
despair.  A  sight  ofthe  Venus deMedicit, the  Apollo  Bel- 
videre,  or  the  Dying  Gladiator,  is  enough  to  discourage 
Imitation.  I  am  convinced  that  I  am  wrong,  for  i  differ 
from  artists  and  connoiseurs,  but  I  rank  the  Venus  of 
Canova  second  only  to  one  statue  of  antiquity.  He 
succeeded  better  in  forms  of  beauty,  than  of  any  other 
kind.  His  boxers,  which  I  saw  at  Rome,  seem  to  have 
more  muscular  exertion  than  is  consistent  v/ith  their 
attitude,  for  they  are  not  striving  in  actual  contact  with 
each  other,  like  the  wrestlers.         .         •     •  '     ^ 

Near  the  Pitti  Palace  is  the  Museum  of  Natural 
History,  abounding  with  excellent  specimens.  There 
are  plants  fin<ily  executed  in  wax,  and  a  vast  and  won- 
derful collection  of  anatomical  figures  of  the  fame  ma- 
terial. First  comes  the  figure  of  a  man  and  woman,  and 
these  a'"c  next  so  diversified  in  separate  specimens,  as 
to  show  in  detail  the  most  minute  vessels  in  the  system. 
Some  Neapolitan  of  a  most  gloomy  genius,  who  had  a 
taste  for  horrors  and  a  talent  for  wax,  has  left  a  repre- 
sentation of  the  plague  in  all  its  stages,  even  those  of 
putrefaction,  that  is  enough  to  make  one  shudder  and 
forswear  readini;  the  talcs  of  Boccacio. 

There  are  many  theatres,  probably  twenty  of  them. 
Connected  with  some  of  them  arc  suites  of  rooms  for 
billiards,  dancing  and  refreshments.  Billiards  are  play- 
ed in  the  greatest  perfection,  and  we  did  not  wait  long 
to  see  some  astonishing  hits. 

At  the  gate  towards  Leghorn  there  is  kept  a  strict 
watch  for  smugglers.  Panniers  of  the  market  people 
are  narrowly  searched,  and  in  a  spirit  not  at  all  accom- 


BOSTON    MERCHANT. 


163 


modating.  The  country  people  are  not  very  richly 
clothed,  for  the  farmers  are  not  much  encumbered 
with  wealth,  but  their  life  seems  to  be  comfortable  ;  and 
though  they  do  no*  own  the  soil,  a  farm  is  held  for  many 
generations  by  the  same  family. 

We  found  the  Tuscans  a  kind  and  cheerful  race, 
not  of  a  very  strong  texture  of  character,  but  willing  to 
do  a  friendly  act  when  it  did  not  cause  much  trouble 
nor  lead  into  danger.  They  are  not  the  people  from 
whom  a  man  would  choose  a  second  for  a  perilous  en- 
terprise, and  I  doubt  if  they  love  with  half  as  much 
ardor  as  they  hate,  if  this  can  be  said  of  any  men  ; 
but  the  arts  that  embellish  life,  and  the  disposition 
to  enjoy   it,  are    successfully  cultivated    at    Florence. 

Even  in  these  days,  there  is  much  of  that  spirit  that 
once  broke  out  in  bloodshed,  and  its  ramifications  are 
very  minute.  Hence  hereditary  antipathy  not  only  in 
states,  but  in  towns,  streets,  and  families.  The  very 
houses  in  Tuscany  are  built  as  if  to  sustain  riots  and 
sieges.  There  is  in  Italy  a  common  language;  almost 
a  common  character,  but  a  thousand  local  divisions. 
With  any  moderately  strong  bond  of  union  or  communi- 
ty of  feeling,  between  the  north  and  middle  and  south 
of  Italy,  the  whole  peninsula  might  htive  a  higher  des- 
tmy  than  to  be  a  crushed  province  of  Austria. 

Rome  is  distant  from  Florence  about  200  miles,  and 
the  mail  goes  in  thirty  hours.  A  traveller  may  take 
passage  with  the  courier  at  an  expense  of  about  thirty 
dollars.  We  preferred  for  comfort,  economy,  and  the 
gratification  of  curiosity,  to  go  with  a  vetturino,  who 
travels  thirtyfive  miles  a  day,  and  furnishes  his  passen- 
gers with  a  supper  and  single  bedroom  at  ni^ht,  for  nine 
dollars.  He  takes  four  within  and  two  oil  the  outside, 
in  front.  This  is  the  best  method  for  one  not  rich,  or 
in  haste,  and  we  were  neither. 


Cl 


lA 


fi:IV 


164 


LETTERS   FROM   A 


^ 


At  ten  o'clock  on  a  fine  morning  in  January,  we  put 
ourselves  in  charge  of  the  coachman  for  Rome,  in  com- 
pany with  a  Russian  family,  that  went  in  another  car- 
riage. For  twenty  miles,  we  went  off  at  a  good  rate; 
when  the  route  became  so  mountainous  that  we  could 
walk  in  advance  of  the  coach.  At  noon,  the  horses 
rested  for  three  hours,  when  we  strolled  on  before,  and 
arrived  at  the  inn  for  the  night  before  the  baggage. 
Sometimes  we  loitered  behind,  with  the  Russians,  who 
were  wrapped  in  furs.  There  were  four  or  five  servants 
that  followed  on  foot,  who,  when  I  walked  with  them, 
would  pat  me  on  the  back  from  pure  good  will,  for  there 
was  no  language  which  we  could  mutually  understand. 
They  were  a  very  friendly  and  good  humoured  people. 
The  master  was  a  most  respectful  man  when  he  under- 
stood that  we  were  Americans, — why  I  know  not,  but 
he  took  off  his  cap  to  us  in  the  Appenines,  where  ft  was 
cold  enough  to  freeze  his  ears.  At  night  we  rested  at 
some  large  town,  of  which  I  have  forgotten  the 
name,  and  at  the  hotel  we  held  a  carouse  with  the 
Russian  who  drank  Tuscan  wine,  as  if  there  were  no 
grapes  on  the  Dvina.  In  carving  a  tough  old  rooster, 
he  expressed  doubts  if  it  had,  like  the  Emperor  Paul, 
come  unfairly  to  its  end. 

In  the  first  day  or  two,  and  till  we  had  passed  Sienna, 
the  country  was  not  particularly  interesting.  Sienna  is 
like  other  large  towns  in  Tuscany,  on  a  hill,  to  secure 
the  citizens  from  the  greater  degree  of  malaria  preva- 
lent in  low  places. 

While  Signore  Marcantonip,  the  coachman,  made  his 
noontide  rest  of  three  hours,  we  strolled  about  the  city. 
The  Cathedral  is  Gothic,  and,  within,  richly  ornament- 
ed. Some  of  the  pavement  is  inlaid  with  lines  of  black 
marble  on  white  ground,  representing  with  good  effect, 
Scripture  histories.     It  has  a  mutilated  group  of  the 


BOSTON    MERCHANT. 


165 


Three  Graces,  and  a  few  illuminated  books.  In  the 
midst  of  the  city  is  a  square,  sloping  downwards,  like 
the  side  of  an  amphitheatre.  There  is  in  the  square  a 
fountain  of  tolerably  clear  water.  In  the  streets  were 
suspended  the  advertisements  for  two  theatres,  so  that 
Sienna  may  not,  after  all,  be  a  place  so  dull  as  at  first 
it  seems. 

-■.'•\   '  ■  ■  ■    '    .       .  :  -'' 


NO.  Vtll. 


Sir — Travellers  have  in  appearance,  more  egotism 
than  others,  but  in  reality,  less.  The  appearance  arises 
from  the  convenient  manner  of  describing  in  the  first 
person;  which  makes  every  man  the  hero  of  his  own 
tale,  and,  therefore  only,  am  I  the  Hercules  of  mine; 
but  this  has  been  a  great  check  in  writing  my  personal 
adventures,  some  of  which  were  passing  strange. 

Having  left  Sienna,  the  next  place  of  much  interest 
that  I  remember  is  Radifocani  on  the  peak  of  a  moun- 
t.'iiii  wild  enough  for  mysteries  of  Udolpho  or  any  other 
mysteries.  The  ascent  is  five  miles,  which  we  made 
on  foot.  There  is  a  fortress  nearly  dismantled,  for  this 
is  the  Tuscan  frop.tier,  and  there  is  a  small  village  with 
a  good  hotel,  in  which  we  passed  the  night. 

On  the  next  day  we  came  to  the  northern  borders  of  the 
Roman  state,  which  has  shrunk  to  the  size  of  an  Amer- 
ican county,  though  it  once  held  all  that  was  worth  hold- 
ing in  the  earth.  We  were  stopped  for  an  hour  at  the 
guard  house,  where  I  escaped  without  opening  my  trunk, 
by  asking  the  young  officer  if  he  were  not  at  Waterloo, 
though  I  as  little  believe  that  he  was  at  Arbela.  The 
Russian,   however,  had  a  double   portion   of  vinegar 


n.^i. 


166 


LETTERS    FROM    A 


squeezed  out  upon   liim  and  he  cursed  his  stars  in  pro- 
portion. 

Tiio  next  town  of  much  interest,  waa  Aquapendente, 
so  named  from  a  very  pretty  cascade.  The  town  is  on 
a  mountain,  and  tlic  ascent  is  among  chfTp  that  offer 
some  of  the  finest  views.  Here  we  dined  much  to  the 
Russian's  taste,  upon  a  black  cat  which  the  cook  called 
a  rabbit;  though  it  made  a  tolerable  ragout.  The  town 
is  old,  dark  and  filthy;  a  blemish  on  such  scenery,  like 
a  patch  upon  a  lady's  face. 

'  God  made  tlio  country,  but  man  maJe  the  town.' 

The  harpies  of  the  police  fleeced  us  (to  use  a  pasto- 
ral figure  and  a  broken  metaphor,)  in  the  sum  of  half  a 
crown,  because  we  had  no  smaller  coin  to  give;  for  it 
is  the  custom  in  these  walled  towns  to  leave  the  pass- 
port at  the  gales,  jn  it  is  restored  at  the  inn  by  a  cor- 
poral, who  expects  a  penny,  and  who,  when  he  felt  the 
half  crown  French,  insulted  me  by  thanks  to  Milor  In- 
glese.         ■     ■   .  •''      ;■'•■'      ^ ■''■'•• '"'■.'i  ,.  ■■  '  .  ,  ^  , 

Lorenzo  Nuovo  is  the  next  town,  and  it  is  more  cred- 
itable to  the  architects  than  Aquapendente.  Here  we 
refreshed  at  the  Caffe  d'  Italia;  for  coffee  rooms  are  to 
be  found  at  the  meanest  villages  in  Italy;  and  in  the 
cities  they  abound  more  than  soda  shops  in  your  own 
temperate  city.  The  coffee  is  taken  in  small  cups,  and 
though  it  is  strong  enough  to  be  called  a  tincture,  with 
no  cream,  (or  even  lime  and  water  as  in  Boston,)  to 
qualify  it.  Opposite,  or  near  to  the  Caffe,  in  a  village, 
is  a  house  with  a  bush  over  the  door,  indicating  that  wine 
is  sold  within.  - 

It  was  the  remark  of  a  man  who  knows  more  than  ev- 
er I  shall  know,  that  temperance  societies  would  do  well 
to  establish  coffee  rooms  in  cities,  for,  said  he,  a  man 
with  notes  to  pay  in  the   dog  days  requires  something 


BOSTON    MEUCHANT, 


167 


m  pro- 

tdcntc, 
1  is  on 
it  offer 
;  to  tho 
t  called 
le  town 
•y,  like 


1  pasto- 
>f  half  a 
e ;  for  it 
he  pass- 
»y  a  cor- 
;  felt  the 
(lilor  In- 

re  cred- 
Hcre  we 
IS  are  to 
id  in  the 
our  own 
ps,  and 
re,  with 
ton,)  to 
village, 
at  wine 

khan  ev- 
do  well 
a  man 
Imething 


better  than  water  to  restore  the  radical  moisture  and 
compose  the  troubled  nerves.  Perhaps  he  will  bolt  a 
dram  of  liquid  fire,  for  brandy  is  at  hand,  or  he  may  be 
poisoned  in  what  is  given  liim  for  win6,  a  vile  mixture 
of  cider,  brandy,  honey  and  logwood;  or  he  may  hug 
himself  on  his  abstemiousness  in  taking  off  a  glass  of 
beer;  till  a  tremendous  colic  gives  the  poor  sufferer  to 
know  that  it  has  been  too  long  in  a  leaden  pipe. 

Now,  (said  the  wise  man  whose  words  I  quote)  if  a 
cup  of  right  Mocha  may  be  had  at  the  same  price  and 
distance  with  the  alcohol  and  malt,  what  a  saving  would 
be  made  to  the  purse,  the  mind,  the  character  and  the 
nervous  system. 

From  the  town  with  the  collee  room,  we  descended 
a  long  hill,  with  caverns  by  the  way  side,  towards  a  lake 
with  a  town  upon  the  bank.  This  is  Bolsenna.  The  views 
about  the  lake  are  beautiful  in  the  extreme,  but  the  poet 
that  in  summer  should  stroll  upon  the  shores  would  hard- 
ly live  to  tell  his  emotions  in  verse.  I  advise  no  man  to 
look  much  upon  water  prospects  in  Italy,  though  they  are 
extremely  attractive,  for  what  is  most  beautiful  is  somo- 
times  the  least  safe,  and  the  fiend  Malaria  may  make  it 
a  fatal  curiosity,  for  though  he  sometimes  has  the  breath 
of  flowers  he  has  always  the  tooth  of  a  viper. 

The  next  town  that  lives  in  i>ur  memory  is  C^vieto, 
which  has  such  excellent  wines  that  none  but  honest 
men  should  taste  them,  and  I  dream  of  them  yet.  In 
the  vicinity  are  many  scattered  columns  of  basalt. 

At  Montefiascone,  which  is  a  town  upon  a  command- 
ing hill,  is  even  better  wine  than  tiiat  of  Orvieto;  for 
vineyards  adjoming  may  produce  wines  of  very  different 
flavors  We  took  in  our  carriage  six  flasks  of  each  wine, 
and  having  drank  one  a-piece,  decided  in  favor  of  the 
Montefiascone;  and  we  read  in  the  road-book  of  a  Ger- 


'  -11 


168 


LETTERS    FROM    A 


1   ! 


'     f 


man  churchman  who  died  a  mart^^r  to  Ihc  game  pref- 
erence. 

Having  crossed  a  barren  plain,  abounding  in  small 
birds,  we  came  to  a  walled  town  at  the  toot  of  a  moun- 
tain.    This  is  Viterbo,  and  for  Italy  it  is  rather  a  neat 
and  cheerful  town,  or  such  was  its  holiday  aspect.  There 
were  neat  stores,  fountains  and  squares.     But   the  peo- 
ple are  all  beggars,  and  the  whole  ragged   regiment 
was  drawn  out,  to  receive  us  with  the  customary  hon- 
ors.    First  came  a  fat  friar,  *  all  shaven  and  shorn, '  with 
a  tin  machine,  like  a  missionary  box.     I  put  in  a  button 
and  received  a  benediction  of  the  same  value.     At  the 
inn  a  servant  dressed  in  silks,  with  golden  rings  in  her 
ears,  begged  behind  our  chair;  and  in  the  public  square 
a  young  man  of  good  aspect  was  kneeling  and  holding 
out  his  hat  and  said  in  English  as  we  passed,  '  charity 
gentlemen,  for  heaven's  sake.'     We  gave,  and  after- 
wards saw  at  Naples  many  similar  suppHcants,  and  some 
in  masks  that  shame  might  hide  its  blushes  while  neces- 
sity solicited  charity  from  strangers. 

At  these  inns  upon  our  route  the  third  course  at  din- 
ner is  generally  of  roasted  birds,  of  the  size  oi  a  fat  wren, 
three  of  which  would  make  a  bite  for  major  Stevens. 
They  are  spitted  by  dozens  upon  a  wire  like  a  knitting 
needle.  I  have  known  a  keen  sportsman  at  Naples  kill 
six  brace  in  a  morning,  and  seen  him  steal  upon  them 
with  as  much  caution  as  I  have  used  with  ducks.  But 
I  blush  to  say  that  I  have  killed  robins  myself. 

Having  passed  Viterbo,  we  entered  on  a  dreary  route 
where  frequent  crosses,  somewhat  like  our  guide  boards 
give  the  traveller  the  pleasure  of  knowing  that  many  of 
his  number  have  been  murdered,  and  the  interest  was 
heightened  in  our  case,  when  Marcantonio,  the  coach- 
man, pointed  out  the  dangerous  defiles,  and  sung  his  fa- 
vourite ballad  in  praise  of  brigands,  for  in  Italy  a  robber 
is  not  without  honor. 


I^KP 


■    l"#«Pill 


BOSTON    MEnClIANT. 


169 


route 
boards 

lany  of 
^st  was 

Icoach- 
his  fa- 
robber 


Once  I  slipped  away  my  purse  into  a  rent  in  the  cush- 
ion, as  a  wild  looking  fellow,  dressed  in  a  black  sheep- 
skin with  the  wool,  |>ut  his  black  paw  into  the  carriage, 
for  I  knew  not  but  that  he  was  the  vanguard  of  a  great- 
er force,  yet  he  was  but  a  harmless  shepherd,  asking  for 
tobacco,  and  we  gave  him  snuff. 

Descending  the  last  hill  we  came  to  a  broad  and  well 
paved  road.  In  the  distance  over  a  wide  waste  of  plain, 
we  beheld  many  spires  and  a  dome  rising  above  th«^m 
like  a  mountain;  this  was  Rome.  As  we  approached, 
we  passed  broken  pillars,  mounds  of  brick,  and  musses 
of  marble,  scattered  over  the  plain.  Then  we  came  to 
a  stream  of  muddy  waters,  a  bow  shot  over;  this  was 
the  Tiber.  We  crossed  it  on  a  bridge  (the  Ponte  Mol- 
le)  and  under  the  arch  of  a  gate  entered  the  noble  square 
del'  Popolo;  for  in  these  countries  the  magistracy  are 
willing  to  gratify  the  people  in  names. 

In  the  middle  is  an  obelisk,  and  at  the  two  corners  a 
couple  of  twin  like  churches.  The  central  street  is  the 
Corso;  we  took  the  left,  which  led  to  what  our  coach- 
man called  in  his  English,  Spain's  Place  or  the  Piazza 
di  Spagna.  Here  at  the  house  of  Clement  Ciuli,  near 
to  a  fountain  and  opposite  a  noble  flight  of  marble  steps, 
we  lodged  for  the  night,  and  slept  like  a  feloij  before 
execution,  somewhat  disturbed  by  the  thought  of  what 
we  should  behold  in  the  morning. 

To  what  shall  I  liken  Rome?  It  is  like  a  man  that 
has  survived  his  honesty,  living  upon  his  reputation.  It 
is  like  a  lady  past  the  prime  of  life,  and  making  up  in 
finery  what  she  has  lost  in  youth  and  bloom.  It  is  like 
an  old  dog  that  has  served  a  great  many  masters,  and 
been  beaten  and  starved  by  all;  or  it  is  like  a  lemon  that 
has  been  squeezed  by  various  hands,  and  as  the  juice  is 
exhausted,  they  who  hold  it  last,  apply  the  greatcot 
pressure. 

15  '       / 


} 


rr! 


170 


LETTERS    FROM    A 


Rome  IS  a  wilderness  of  houses,  rising  in  the  midst  of 
a  desert  plain.     To  the  north,   east,  and  a  little  in  the 
south,  are  at  a  distance  of  a  dozen  miles  or  more,  the 
Appenines,  but  towards  the  west,  the  plain  stretches  to 
the  sea.     It  was  founded,  I  take  the  liberty  to  tell  you, 
by  Romulus,  who  had  that  gentle    foster-mother,    and 
gave  the  city  his  name.     It  was  the  centre,  the  focus, 
of  the  world.     Roads   branched  out  from  this  central 
point,  like  the  warp  of  a  spider's  web,   towards  the  cir- 
cumference.    I   presume  that  you  are  so  well  informed 
of  the  changes,  for  the  last  two  thousand  years,  that  you 
would  not  look  in  Rome  for  the  gentem  togatam  (not 
lawyers,)  that  is,  a  race  of  men  wearing   hooked  noses 
and   gowns.     You  may  see  them  in  busts  and  statues, 
but   "iey  walk  no  more  on  earth.     No  men  are  left  in 
Italy,  resembling  even  the  ancient  Romans.     Cassius 
was  the  last  of  them^  but  as  there  came  out  '  more  last 
words  of  Mr  Baxter,  '  so  the  title  that  pertained  to  Cas- 
sius, has  been  divided  with  Rienzi,  who  owed  some  of 
his  fame  to  chance,  and  more  of  it  to  Gibbon.     The  men 
who  most  resemble  Regulus  and  Cato,  and  Cincinnatus, 
are  in  a  country  that  was  unknown  to  the  civilized  world, 
when  Rome  was  mistress  of  it.         •    . ' 

The  very  hills,  whereon  the  mighty  Rome  reposed, 
have  been  changed  by  time;  years  have  done,  in  this 
respect,  what  Gothic  taste  has  done  in  Boston,  where, 
when  boys,  we  used  to  slide  down  Beacon  hill.  The 
Tiber  I  suppose  to  be  the  least  changed  of  all  natural 
things  at  Rome.  In  size  and  situation  it  remains  as  it 
was,  and  it  still  rolls  its  current  of  yellow  sand.  The 
sky  is  the  same  too,  '  trailing  clouds  of  glory,'  like  a 
good  man's  prospects  of  the  future. 

On  the  morning  after  our  arrival,  we  called  upon 
Torlonia,  our  banker,  who  is  also  a  Duke,  for  titles  of 
this  kind  are  to  be  bought  at  Rome,  and  at  a  fair  rate. 


v-w^miSifc-, 


BOSTON   MERCHANT. 


171 


midst  of 
le  in  the 
lore,  the 
itches  to 
tell  you, 
ler,    and 
le  focus, 
central 
I  the  cir- 
informed 
that  you 
am  (not 
;d  noses 
1  statues, 
re  left  in 
Cassius 
nore  last 
1  to  C as- 
some  of 
rhe  men 
innatus, 
d  world, 

reposed, 
in  this 
,  where, 
.  The 
natural 
ins  as  it 
d.  The 
like  a 

ed  upon 
titles  of 
air  rate. 


I  think  that  an  ass  may  be  made  a  duke  for  twenty  thou- 
sand dollars,  and  less  ridiculous  in  proportion.  On  this 
walk  to  the  banker's,  we  turned  from  our  lodgings  into 
the  Via  Frattina,  a  street  occupied  by  foreigners; 
and  this  brought  us  to  the  grand  Corso,  the  great  street 
of  the  city.  There  are  nere  some  splendid  palaces,  and 
a  few  rich  shops.  In  the  middle  of  the  day  the  street  is 
filled  with  carriages,  for  it  is  vulgjir  for  a  lady  and  gen- 
tleman to  walk  in  Rone,  and  the  populace  are  too  in- 
significant to  deserve  side  walks,  but  must  dodge  about 
among  the  little  horses  at  full  speed.  I  myself  was  pros- 
trated by  an  equestrian,  but  before  I  was  up,  the  cava- 
lier was  off.  I  was  mightily  sho'cked,  and  if  I  had 
heeded  unens  should  have  kept  in  that  day.  But  Cje- 
sjir  w>  uld  goto  the  Senate  house.  I  had  a  dream  the 
night  Lefore,  that  I  was  groping  in  the  Tiber  for  a  stat- 
ue, and  grasped  a  gymnotus  that  gave  me  such  a  shock, 
that  I  leaped  from  the  bed,  and  a  dragoon  fulfilled  the 
augury. 

We  walked  down  the  Corso  till  we  came  to  a  sort  of 
spiral  column,  surmounted  by  Saint  Peter  with  his  keys 
in  the  form  of  a  cross;  whence,  I  suppose,  our  tavern 
signs  of  the  cnss  keys,  so  common  in  the  middle  States. 
This  was  the  column  of  Antonine;  and,  as  it  was  the  first 
we  had  seen,  we  paused  awhile  to  admire  it.  Then  we 
went  down,  without  a  guide,  to  the  end  of  the  same  wide 
street  where,  in  a  space  at  the  left,  we  found  anotli*^ 
column  of  a  more  graceful  form  and  tar  better  sojlpture. 
In  front,  (if  to  a  circle  there  be  any  Iront)  thfre  were 
rows  of  broken  [<  lars,  part  of  the  Forum  of  Trajan;  a 
prince,  whose  name  the  column  bean,  whose  ashes  it 
once  held,  aid  whose  virtues  made  »r  /lattery  to  say  of 
the  best  of  his  successors,   ^  mclior  Troyno.'' 

Then  we  kept  on  in  the  same  direction,  till  we  came 
to  a  circular  wall,  large  enough  to  cncio.sn  a  city.  It 
was   the    Coliseum,    now    consecrated    as   a  Catholic 


il 


172 


LETTERS   FROM   A 


I' 

if 

church,  by  a  shrewd  rite  that  has  preserved  it  from 
pillage.  Time  had  lightly  touched  it,  the  earthquake 
could  not  shake  it,  fire  harmed  it  not,  and  war  passed  it 
by  and  spared  it,  for  the  sake  of  '  the  grrat  of  old;'  but 
three  hundred  years  ago,  the  Roman  nobles  assailed  it, 
making  a  quarry  of  its  walls,  to  build  their  palaces.  But 
for  these  bold  bad  men,  the  traveller  would  not  feel,  in 
the  area  of  the  Coliseum,  that  he  stands  amid  ruins. 
But  it  is  a  magnificent  ruin;  and,  as  it  was  predicted 
that  some  crumbling  abbey  would  fall  upon  the  posterity 
of  Knox,  it  may  as  safely  be  believed,  that  the  Coli- 
seum will  crush  the  descendants  of  the  Barberini.  Byron 
has  well  described  fhis  mighty  mass  in  Chil^e  Harold, 
and  in  the  admirable  lines  near  the  close  of  Manfred. 

The  space  in  front  of  the  Coli(>cum  constitutes  the 
Forum  Romanum,  where  every  broken  pillar  has  a  voice , 
and  every  crumbling  arch  atters  a  parable.  The  wl.-^le 
space  is  now  called  the  Cow  Pasture,  '  a  heavy  declen- 
sion!' and  we  saw  cowherds,  little  fit  to  alternate  in 
eclogues,  in  a  spot  which  some  hold  to  be  the  most  hon- 
ored on  the  earth. 

From  this  we  passed  out  at  a  gate,  for  a  stroll  in  the 
country.  An  inscription  on  the  left,  '  Sepolcro  di  Sci- 
pione,'  led  us  into  the  tomb  of  the  grandfather  of  Afri- 
canus.  Then  we  came  to  the  little  church  of  St  Sebas- 
tian, where  there  is  an  entrance  to  the  catacombs.  We 
pursued  these  cavernous  passages  but  a  little  distancc_ 
At  the  entrance  is  a  good  figure,  by  Bernini,  of  the 
saint,  transfixed  with  an  arrow;  the  monks  shew  it 
with  satisfaction. 

Next,  we  looked  mto  the  immense  ruins  ot  the  palace 
of  Caracalla,  where  the  earth  has  been  much  turned 
over  for  statues,  and  where  some  of  the  best  have  been 
found.  We  brought  away  a  small  portion  of  Mosaic, 
with  the  figure  of  an  animal.     Beyond  this,  we  visited 


Mi 


BOSTON   MERCHANT. 


173 


an  eternal  monument  to  Cecilia 'Metella;  it  rises  with 
a  graceful  effect  on  a  little  hill,  and  the  interest,  per- 
haps, is  increased  by  the  solitude.  On  the  return,  we 
went  into  a  cool  grotto,  in  the  side  of  a  hill,  where  a 
little  stream  trickles  into  a  marble  basin;  this  was  the 
grot  of  the  pretty  nymph  Egoria. 

This  was  the  excursion  of  our  first  day.  We  were  in 
search  of  antiquities,  and  scorned  to  look  at  anything 
as  young  as  fifteen  centuries;  considering  a  temple  of  a 
thousand  years  but  an  infant.  We  learnt,  in  this  route, 
a  little  how  the  old  Ronans  lived;  and  afterwards,  in 
their  statues,  how  they  looked. 

At  our  rooms  we  found  the  American  Consul,  who  is 
intelligent  and  pleasing,  and  who  speaks  better  English 
than  I  do.  In  the  afternoon  we  hired  a  valet  de  place, 
to  act  as  a  guide  to  the  sights,  and  lead  us  to  them  the 
shortest  way;  for,  in  the  morning,  we  walked  twelve 
miles  to  what  migiit  have  been  seen  in  six.  In  the  eve- 
ning, he  took  us  to  the  theatre,  which  happened  to  be 
well  attended,  and  we  saw  many  very  beautiful  Roman 
ladies. 


NO.  IX. 


Sin — In  a  late  paper,  yuu  ask  for  a  '  place  in  the 
country,  where  a  boy  is  wanted  to  turn  up  the  sod;'  and 
as  I  hope  your  actions  will  not  contradict  your  princi- 
ples, I  look  to  receive  one  of  the  youngsters  by  return 
of  wagon.  I  have  a  small  freehold,  where,  if  '  neither 
money  is  turned  up  with  every  furrow,  nor  health  spar- 
kles on  every  blade  of  grass,'  yet  a  boy  can  find  em 

ployment  in   picking  up  stones  and  whacking  bushes. 
13* 


rr 


174 


LETTERS   FROM    A 


It  is  very  easy  to  praise  a  farmer's  life,  but  it  is  all  from 
affectation,  as  the  poets  used  to  praise  Arcadia.  Cin- 
cinnatus  has  a  name  in  history  for  little  else  than  because 
he  could  endure  to  cultivate  turnips;  and  the  very  praise 
that  has  been  lavished  on  him,  shews  that  it  required 
self-denial  to  retire  to  his  farm. 

I  myself  have  pounded  the  earth  at  Potatoville,  and  if 
I  had  fifty  sons,  I  would  send  them  all  to  cities.  They 
should  live  among  men,  and  not  browse  with  cattle; 
they  should  thrive  by  their  wits,  and  not  depend  upon 
their  hands.  Whatever  leads  a  man  to  adapt  intel- 
lectual means  to  ends,  raises  him  in  the  scale  of  intel- 
lect; while  the  i  ore  he  labors,  the  less  he  will  reflect; 
'  Those  who  think  must  govern  those  who  toil.' 

Nay,  never  shake  your  gory  pitchforks  at  me,  ye  huge 
Titans,  because  I  esteem  matter  less  than  mind.  But 
send  that  pretty  boy,  sir,  that  we  may  make  a  lout  of  him 
at  once,  to  which  end  he  shall  have  all  the  advantage  of 
my  own  example. 

What  made  the  Romans  great?  their  ',  reed  of  cattle, 
or  their  race  of  men?  planting  corn,  or  rearing  temples 
and  advancing  in  the  arts? 

Excuse  me   for  giving  the  auger  a  few  more  twists 

upon  Home,  while  I  open  my  book  of  engravings  at  the 

Coliseum.    We  returned  to  it  by  moonlight,  which  much 

increases  the  interest.  .  '^ 

'  For  the  gay  beams  of  gladsome  day 

Gild,  but  to  flout,  the  ruins  gray.'  .     ^ 

As  there  used  to  be  now  and  then  a  murder  here,  (for 
it  is  a  charming  place  for  an  assassin  to  stab  and  vanish 
in,)  the  ruins  arc  guarded  by  a  couple  of  brave  soldiers. 
I  had  fresh  i.i  "'^ory  the  incantations  made  by  mad 
Benvenuto,  that  filled  this  vast  amphitiieatre  with  devils, 


*•  )■' 


.-■'  ■ 


BOSTON    MERCHANT. 


173 


II  from 
Cin- 
;  cause 
praise 
quired 

,  and  if 
They 
cattle; 
id  upon 
t  intel- 
if  intel- 
iflect; 

ye  huge 
d.  But 
it  of  him 
itage  of 

cattle, 
temples 

twists 
at  the 
i\\  much 


;re,  (for 
1  vanish 
loldiers. 
by  mad 
devils, 


four  of  which  were  of  the  height  of  giants,  '  proudly  pre- 
eminent.' 

To  tell  the  truth,  at  the  risk  of  ridicule,  (which  is 
harder  than  it  seems  to  be,)  I  saw  a  shadow  that  I  could 
not  account  for,  cast  beside  my  own. 

'  The  place 
►  Became  religious,  and  the  heart  ran  o'er 

With  silent  worship  of  the  great  of  old, 
The  dead  hut  sceptorcd  sovereign?,  who  still  rule 
Our  spirits  from  their  urns." 

In  recalling  the  mass  of  what  we  saw  at  Rome,  the 
very  profusion  is  a  barrier  to  description;  for  where 
should  we  begin,  or  rather,  where  should  we  end,  with 
so  many  temples,  arches,  churches,  columns,  obelisks, 
aqueducts,  fountains,  bridges,  statues,  and  paintings. 

It  would  be  better  not  to  have  seen  Rome,  (like  iVa- 
poleon,)  than  pretend  to  describe  what  was  seen  of  it  in 
eighteen  days.  I  think  that  the  mighty  Emperor  was 
never  at  the  ancient  capital  it  was  his  wish  to  emulate 
in  Paris;  and  this  is  passing  strange;  for  no  man  de- 
lighted more  in  the  charlatanry  of  power,  and  he  would 
have  played  a  very  classic  pageant  among  the  ruins. 
Madame  de  Statl  thinks  she  foresaw  his  imperial  de- 
signs in  the  consulate,  when  he  affected  to  stand  upon 
one  foot,  behind  a  lady's  chair,  after  the  manner  of  the 
Bourbon  princes.  At  Rome  he  would  have  displayed, 
with  good  effect,  his  likeness  to  Augustus,  whose  bust 
he  much  resembled.  * 

We  could  not  decide,  to  our  own  satisfaction,  what 
was  the  most  interesting  object  at  Rome — sometimes  we 
thought  it  St  Peter's,  and  at  others  the  Pantheon,  the 
Coliseum,  and  the  Pillar  of  Trajan.  But  there  are  a 
hundred  things  worth  a  voyage  over  the  Atlantic  to  see, 
to  say  nothing  of  the  overpowering  interest  of  the  whole; 
for  at  or  near  sunset,  if  a  man  will  put  himself  on  the 


I 


it 


\.i  i 


I    Ul 


'  <  '1*1 


176 


LETTERS   FROM   A 


•  i 


summit  of  St  Peter's  Church,  he  will  see  a  prospect  of 
city,  plain,  and  mountains,  that  he  will  remember  as  long 
as  he  shall  live.  There  is  a  noble  engraved  view  of  the 
city,  of  the  price  of  four  dollars,  but  I  did  not  bring  one 
for  you  as  a  present.  Then  there  are  books  of  engrav- 
ings of  the  objects  in  detail,  of  all  sizes,  and  every  price; 
and  these,  to  be  frank,  made  all  the  journal  that  I  kept 
at  Rome. 

It  would  be  a  shame  to  say  nothing  of  St  Peter's, 
and  a  failure  to  try  to  describe  it.  Of  all  '  solemn  tem- 
ples,' it  is  the  most  impressive;  but  not  at  first.  The 
Coliseum  and  the  Pantheon  strike  at  once,  for  within 
or  without,  the  eye  can  compass  the  whole.  But  St 
Peter's  is  so  vast,  that  at  once  the  mind  itself  cannot 
comprehend  it;  but  awe  and  admiration  would  grow  upon 
you  at  every  successive  stage  of  the  examination,  and  I 
believe  would  never  subside. 

The  Pantheon  is  a  wonder,  but  in  the  dome  of  St  Pe- 
ter's is  the  Pantheon,  raised  three  hundred  feet  in  the 
air.  Though  the  front  of  St  Peter's  is  of  a  broken  de- 
sign, you  have  an  admirable  perspective  of  the  whole: 
first  you  enter  a  round  court  of  several  acres,  surround- 
ed by  a  stupendous  colonnade  of  three  hundred  pillars, 
surmounted  by  statues  of  martyrs.  In  the  middle  of  the 
area  is  an  obelisk,  with  hieroglyphics;  it  is  of  one 
shaft,  eighty  feet,  and  with  the  base,  one  hundred  and 
twentyfour,  and  ^n  each  side  are  fountains,  that  play 
continually. 

You  pass  the  vestibule  of  the  church,  and  enter  the 
most  splendid  hall  that  was  ever  constructed  by  man; 
and  whea  your  acfmiration  of  its  extent  begins  to  sub- 
side, you  will  find  enough  to  admire  in  the  exquisite 
finish  of  the  whole.  The  pillars  are  encrusted  with  pre- 
cious stones,  and  beautiful  pictures  in  mosaic.  But 
enough  of  it,  except  that  we  made  up  to  the  bronze  statue 


i.  I 


BOSTON    MERCHANT. 


177 


of  St  Peter,  the  toe  of  which  is  kissed  by  all;  it  is  half 
kissed  away.  / 

The  world  is  full  of  changes,  and  this  was  once  a  statue 
of  Jupiter;  but  this  is  notliing,  a  thousand  rites  of  the 
Catholic  church  are  but  classic  observances,  for  one 
superstition  rose  out  of  the  ruins  of  the  other,  and  St 
Peter  is  strangely  represented  by  the  image  of  one 
whose  dominion  he  assisted  to  destroy. 

The  Vatican,  that  adjoins,  is  like  a  large  town:  mainly 
it  is  twelve  hundred  feet  long,  and  one  thousand  broad, 
but  there  arc  many  branches.  It  has  twcntytwo  courts, 
and  many  thousand  apartments.  The  library  is  in  shape 
like  a  T,  nearly  half  a  mile  long,  but  in  walking  through 
you  see  no  books,  for  they  are  all  shut  up  in  elegant 
cabinets. 

Our  remembrance  of  many  of  the  best  paintings  and 
statues  is  fresh,  and  I  would  say  something  of  them,  but 
that  they  cannot  be  described.  A  description  of  a  pic- 
ture, or  statue,  may  recall  the  images  to  one  who  has 
seen  them,  but  can  convey  little  to  one  who  has  not. 

It  is  a  hard  struggle,  when  a  traveller  arrives  at  Rome, 
to  reconcile  the  pictures  that  his  imagination  has  formed, 
with  what  is  actually  before  him;  though  this  I  have 
found  in  lesser  degree  in  all  cities. 

Long  processions,  churches  with  lights  blazing  all 
night  before  the  altars,  priests  in  black  robes,  and  car- 
dinals in  red,  engravings  of  the  Pope,  and  images  of  St 
Peter,  filth,  poverty,  beauty,  and  magnificence,  arc  some 
of  the  marks  that  distinguish  modern  Rome. 

But  on''e  out  of  the  Corso,  you  cannot  look  up  with- 
out seeing  mutilated  remnants  of  its  ancient  splendor, 
broken  statues,  prostrated  pillars,  crumbling  arches, 
walls,  and  inscriptions.  What  we  have  written  has  no 
pretence  fo  be  even  an  outline;  there  is  little  encour- 
agement to  write  recollections  of  Rome;  there  are  too 


V: ; 


I  i 


■T^-""PI 


178 


LETTERS   FROM   A 


i  .r, 


many  books  descriptive  of  it,  to  leave  anything  new  to 
bo  said,  and  some  of  them  too  well  written  to  make  it 
easy  to  say  an  old  thing  half  as  well. 

The  country  around  the  city  is  as  barren  as  neglect 
and  drought  can  make  it;  but  time  and  labor  might  re- 
store its  fertility,  though  everything  in  the  Roman  state 
is  ruinous,  and  a  broken  arch  is  an  emblem  of  the  state 
itself  ■        ■     / 

We  felt  nothing  of  the  malaria,  for  it  was  in  winter; 
but  we  saw  enough  of  its  vestiges,  as  the  asp  was  traced 
by  its  slime,  in  Cleopatra's  basket  of  figs.  The  marks 
of  this  pest  of  the  low  lands  were  sallow  faces,  which 
would  have  been  death-like,  but  for  two  wild  and  lustrous 
eyes,  emitting  a  lambent  light,  like  a  will-o'-wisp  about 
a  charnel  house.  Streets  and  towns  are  depopulated. 
Ostia,  a  large  town,  is  as  desolate  as  Pompeii,  and  has 
less  than  a  dozen  people.  It  was  a  schoolboy  doubt  of 
mine,  that  birds  were  killed  by  the  vapour  of  Avernus; 
but  I  can  believe  it  here.  Bishop  Heber  describes  some 
wild  region  in  India,  blooming  in  summer  in  all  the  vege- 
table magnificence  of  the  East,  that  is  then  deserted  by 
everything  that  has  animal  life.  It  is  like  a  boundless 
forest  of  upas  treqs — no  bird  alights  upon  its  branches, 
no  serpent  ejects  his  venom;  for  there  is  here  one  more 
poisonous  than  himself.  Other  animals  are  guided  by 
instinct,  man  by  reason;  which  is  the  safest  conductor? 
The  good  Bishop  (never  was  there  a  better  man)  be- 
lieved that  animals  had  some  sagacity  of  impulse,  that 
led  them  to  avoid  «'ertain  destruction  in  the  air  of  these 
forests.  This  is  the  place,  sir,  where  we  should  colo- 
nize the  blacks;  it  would  give  them,  at  once,  the  relief 
that  is  a  year  or  two  in  coming  at  Liberia,  and  here  also 
would  be  a  better  residence  than  St  Helena,  for  de- 
throned emperors. 


BOSTON    MERCHANT. 


179 


You  may  wish  to  know  something  of  the  personal  ap- 
pearance of  the  Romans.  They  arc  slender,  stooping  a 
little  forward,  and  not  standing  bolt  upright  like  an 
Englishman.  Their  countenances  are  very  animated, 
and  one  expression  chases  another  over  them,  as  in  a 
child;  but  they  arc  children,  and  I  have  seen  a  coachman 
weep,  when  his  wheel  was  fast  in  the  mud,  and  laugh 
with  extravagant  joy  when  his  passengers  had  lifted  it 
out.  In  their  language,  they  have  preserved  more  traces 
of  their  ancestors,  than  in  their  features  or  minds. 

The  sons  of  the  church  are  dressed  in  black,  though 
in  processions  there  are  many  white  robes.  The  clergy, 
including  monks,  are  without  number;  you  meet  them 
at  every  turn,  as  in  Boston  you  fall  upon  a  black  coat  in 
election  week,  where  there  are  so  many  societies,  with 
each  a  sermon  and  a  contribution. 

The  Jews  are  about  twenty  thousand,  and  have  all  the 
indulgence  that  can  be  expected,  from  the  clemency  of 
the  mildest  Pope,  to  such  a  stubborn  generation.  They 
are  shut  up  at  night,  like  cattle,  in  their  own  pen,  which 
is  a  very  filthy  part  of  the  city;  and  the  dispersed  race 
are  nowhere  in  Europe  distinguished  for  neatness; 
though,  as  far  as  I  can  estimate  the  degrees  offilthiness, 
in  Poland  they  are  the  highest. 

The  countenance  of  a  Jew  betrays  his  lineage;  it  is 
not  easy  to  describe  wherein  he  differs  so  much  from 
other  men,  yet  the  difference  is  such  as  is  never  to  be  mis- 
taken. Their  countenances  are  somewhat  between  those 
of  the  goat  and  the  fox. 

They  look  forward  to  the  rebuilding  of  the  temple, 
and  are  shy  of  the  monument  of  the  prince  who  destroy- 
ed it;  therefore  they  will  take  a  circuit,  rather  than  pass 
the  arch  of  Titus.  ,  ..  .*} 

The  horses  at  Rome  are  small,  but  very  spirited,  and 
swift  in  the  race,  which  is  run  without  riders;  the  car- 


m 


t:     )■ 


w 


180 


^    LETTERS    FROM    ▲ 


riagcs  are  those  old  lumbering  machines,  that  you  may 
remember  thirty  years  ago,  if  you  can  look  back  so  far. 
No  Roman  gentleman,  who  values  his  character,  will  be 
seen  walking;  riding  is  the  great  barrier  that  separates 
him  from  the  vulgar,  and  though  the  vulgar  are,  as  else- 
where, the  largest  class,  they  are  of  too  little  account  to 
have  side-walks.  A  Roman  lady  walks  as  little  as  a 
Chinese,  but  dances  infinitely  better. 

The  countrymen  that  come  to  market  are  vagabonds, 
dressed  iu  tatters,  \vhich  are  the  more  shabby,  because 
the  remnant  of  finery.  The  artists  are  better  paid  than 
other  classes,  except  priests.  They  are  supported  prin- 
cipally by  travellers,  and  some  of  them  make  very  pretty 
imitations  of  antique  gems,  and  models  of  temples,  &c., 
from  fragments  of  the  same,  and  I  have  a  little  image  of 
the  Coliseum,  from  a  piece  that  1  broke,  like  a  barba- 
rian, from  a  cornice.  •  ->         ;'         ^  , 

At  some  seasons,  there  are  a  thousand  or  more  Eng- 
lish, who  are  also  dispersed  all  over  Italy,  where  they 
come,  from  restlessness,  or  for  health,  study,  curiosity, 
pleasure,  or  economy.  An  American  from  the  United 
States  has  so  much  resemblance  to  the  stock  f::om  whence 
he  sprung,  that  he  is  taken  for  an  Englishman,  though 
you  and  I  know  Mr  Bull  at  a  glance.  From  us  he  can- 
not hide  his  horns,  though  he  may  not  gore  with  them. 
His  lordly  stride,  and  the  curl  of  his  lip,  when  he  sees 
abroad  a  better  country  and  institutions  than  he  left  at 
home,  are  not  to  be  repressed. 

There  are  French,  also,  the  friends  and  adherents  of 
Napoleon;  and  Spaniards,  who  came  on  devout  pilgrim- 
ages. Germans  you  will  find  all  over  Italy;  for  what 
is  the  whole  of  it,  but  a  province  of  Austria;  and  Russians 
make  it  a  constant  residence,  having  once  seen  a  coun- 
try so  different  from  the  frozen  North.  It  is  easy  to 
understand  the  haste  of  the  Northern  hive  to  quit  their 
forests  for  sunny  vineyards  and  plains.  , 


BOSTON    MERCHANT. 


181 


u  may 
so  far. 
will  be 
^urates  ' 
IS  else- 
ount  to 
tic  as  a 

ibonds, 
>ecau3e 
id  than 
sd  prin- 
^  pretty 

SS,  &.C., 

mage  of 
L  barba- 

re  Eng- 

re  they 

iriosity, 

United 

whence 

though 

he  can- 

h  them. 

le  sees 

lefl  at 

rents  of 
ilgrim- 
)r  what 
ussians 
a  coun- 
easy  to 
lit  their 


Turk.s  there  arc  none,  thoiigli,  in  the  maritime  cities, 
no  sight  is  more  common  than  the  turban,  yet  here  it 
would  probably  be  stoned;  Mahomet  would  not  he  per- 
mitted so  near  the  shrine  of  St  Peter. 

Having  borrowed  half  a  day  from  Election,  to  tell  you 
these  things,  I  will  say  no  more  of  Jiome.  We  left  the 
temples,  statues,  and  paintings,  with  regret;  but  they 
are  all  so  stamped  upon  our  memory,  that,  were  we  art- 
ists, we  could  draw  them. 

We  took  passage  for  Naples  with  a  new  coachman,  a 
choleric  fellow,  in  company  with  seven  dignitaries  of  the 
church.  Wc  were  delayed  at  the  gate  an  hour,  to  ex- 
hibit passports,  and  answer  idle  questions  about  our 
ages  and  business.  When  permitted  to  go,  we  entered 
at  once  upon  the  barren  plains,  that  for  twenty  miles 
surround  the  city.  Wo  passed  a  few  flocks  of  sheep 
and  goats,  under  the  inspection  of  Corydon  and  Alexis, 
whose  appearance  did  not  say  much  for  a  shepherd's 
life.  We  passed  nameless  ruins  of  columns,  arches,  and 
shapeless  mounds,  overgrown  with  weeds.  On  both 
sides,  in  the  fields,  were  long  lines  of  broken  arches, 
which  once  were  aqueducts,  rolling  rivers  from  the 
mountains  to  the  city;  they  were  carried  twenty  miles, 
and  a  single  arch  is  a  monument,  like  the  <>.olumn  on 
Bunker's  Hill.  After  riding  a  dozen  or  more  miles,  we 
began  to  ascend  the  long  hill,  on  the  top  of  which  is  Al- 
bano.  On  the  left,  were  Frescati,  Tivoli,  and  (I  think) 
Citta  Castellana,  all  making  a  beautiful  show  among 
the  mountains.  On  ascending  the  hill,  we  passed  seve- 
ral columns,  overgrown  and  covered  with  ivy;  and  as  1 
walked  up,  I  paused  to  admire  one  of  the  best  voices 
ever  heard.  It  came  from  a  wild  looking  fellow,  who 
v..  ringing  in  the  top  of  an  olive  tree,  which  he  was 
i'imn^jiig.  , 


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LETTERS    FROM   A 


NO.  X. 


[^ 


Sir — In  travelling  so»ithward  from  Rome,  every  mile 
leads  to  a  better  country,  for  there  can  l>e  none  worso 
than  that  of  the  Campagna.  At  Albano,  we  found 
olives,  grapes,  a  variety  of  fruits,  and  grain;  the  town 
is  on  a  hill,  and  is  in  summer  the  residence  of  a  great 
many  strangers  and  others,  who  fly  from  malaria;  and  there 
is  a  daily  coach  to  Rome.  In  the  middle  of  the  town 
is  an  antique  edifice  with  three  towers,  placed  by  anti- 
quaries to  the  credit  of  an  early  event  in  the  Roman 
annals.  The  lake  of  Albano  is  attractive,  but  we  had 
no  time  to  see  it;  we  however  strolled  in  advance  of 
the  caravan  around  some  beautiful  slopes  and  fountains, 
till  we  came  to  Aricia,  also  wisely  built  upon  a  hill 

'  Pinguis  ul'i  01  placabiliH  ara  Diante.' 
The  scenery  in  this  vicinity  is  as  beautiful  as  can  be 
made  by  the  combination  of  towns,  towers,  lakes,  clifls, 
woods,  plains,  and  a  distant  ocean,  called  in  Virgil,  the 
Tuscan  sea.  > 

We  had  scarcely  left  the  gates  of  Aricia  before 
our  coachman  gave  a  specimen  of  his  temper;  one 
of  his  fraternity  who  had  left  him  but  half  the  road  to 
pass  in,  he  chased  round  the  coaches  and  threatened 
extermination  with  an  iron-bound  stick.  Clergy  and 
laity  interfered  to  preserve  life,  and  when  I  wrested 
the  club  from  the  fellow's  hand,  I  thought  I  never  be- 
held a  face  tilled  with  so  much  of  the  evil  principle ; 
there  was  murder  in  every  line  of  it. 

Our  coaches  advanced  so  slowly  that  we  walked  over 
a  great  part  of  this  route  to  Naples,  which  was  very 
wild  in  the  mountains,  and  fertile  in  the  plains.  We 
saw  nothing  in  Italy  like  the  gently  swelling  hills  that 
are  so  pretty  in  an  English  landscape.    It  was  all  moun- 


BOSTON    MERCHANT. 


183 


ry  mile 
!  worse 
I   found 
le  town 
a  great 
nd there 
le  town 
by  anti- 
Roman 
we  had 
ance  of 
untains, 
nil) 

\  can  be 
3,  cliffs, 
rgil,  the 

before 
er;    one 

road  to 
reatened 
rgy  and 
wrested 
ever  be- 
rinciple; 

ced  over 
iras  very 
ns.  We 
lills  that 
,11  moun- 


tain or  plain.  The  plain  is  covced  with  olives,  vines, 
and  grain,  which  are  also  found  on  terraces  in  the  side 
of  the  mountain,  while  the  upper  regions  are  covered 
with  trees,  and  the  bare  summits  browsed  by  goats  and 
sheep.  There  are  many  chestnut  trees,  and  a  coarse 
kind  of  bread  is  made  of  the  nut,  which  is  at  least  six 
times  as  large  as  the  largest  of  ours.  In  the  cities  you 
will  find  them  roasting  on  furnaces  in  the  streets,  and 
may  fill  your  pockets  for  the  smallest  coin. 

On  the  second  day,  I  think,  we  passed  the  Pontine 
Mar.shes,  over  a  road  that  it  wp.s  a  pleasure  to  walk 
upon.  These  are  the  confines  of  that  gloomy  monarch 
to  whose  dominions  we  'must  come  at  last.'  The 
meadows  are  dressed  in  the  richest  green,  and  scented 
with  a  thousand  flowers;  the  trees  almost  conceal  the 
road,  expanding  their  huge  arms  that  have  waved  for 
ages;  but  man  withers  in  a  day  by  the  very  causes  that 
give  such  etrongth  and  heauty  to  vegetable  life.  At 
that  seasen  the  air  was  good,  and  even  in  summer  the 
traveller,  if  he  have  good  horses,  may  have  a  race  with 
Deatli,  and  escape  him  (as  Tarn  O'Shanter  avoided  his 
pursuers)  for  a  time. 

The  wide  meadows  are  filled  with  numberless  flocks 
of  wild  geese  and  other  aquatic  birds;  the  woodcocks 
ar^  as  large  as  ; Nirliidges,  and  are  much  sought  for  at 
Rome  and  Naples. 

At  the  end  of  the  Marshes  we  came  upon  Tcrracina, 
on  a  lovely  sweep  of  bay  under  a  tall  cliff  that  projects 
almost  into  the  sea.  Here  \  'a  found  a  good  inn  and 
passed  the  night  to  our  liking.  Near  this  we  rema^'ked 
some  hedges  of  aloe  growing  to  the  height  of  eight  feet. 
In  the  morning  we  arose  so  early  as  to  be  at  the  frontiers 
of  the  kingdom  of  Naples  before  the  light  of  day,  and 
there  we  found  a  police  so  strict  that  our  passports  were 
copied  verbatim,  and  as  mine  was  so  worn  as  to  be  al- 


i-wr'-'—  ■ 


m^ 


'wiuiii»iin^i^i(j  n«  '.wi'mJ<!«npiBiiiippp|ira|gH|Kfp 


184 


LETTERS   FROM    A 


i' 


^    A 

IV! 


['i,  !• 


Diost  illegible,  I  had  to  go  into  a  history  of  my  life, 
opinions,  and  designs,  in  travelling. 

On  this  day  we  came  to  a  mountain  pass  so  complete- 
ly commanded  by  a  fortress  that  it  seemed  wonderful 
that  ten  thousand  Neapolitans  should  retreat  from  it 
without  a  fight,  on  the  approach  of  an  Austrian  army. 

Beyond  this,  are  Fondi  and  Itri,  gloomy  towns  among 
the  mountains,  inhabited  by  people  whose  trade  it  wa» 
to  plunder,  and  whose  pleasure  it  was  to  kill.  They 
were  the  homes  of  the  banditti,  that  used  to  adventure 
so  largely  in  the  way  of  rapine  and  ransom,  and  the 
robbers  relinquished  their  depredations  only  with  the 
loss  of  half  their  number,  and  on  some  violent  measures 
with  their  towns. 

I  have  seen  wreckers  and  pirates  in  the  West  Indies, 
and  Malays  in  the  East,  heads  by  Salvator  Rosa,  and 
rogues  without  number  in  our  own  country,  but  never 
beheld  such  sinister,  blood-thirsty  looking  wretches  b» 
at  these  towns.  They  are  men  that  you  would  shrink 
from  anywhere,  and  I  did  not  walk  among  them  without 
keeping  an  eye  over  my  shoulder,  and  a  hand  upon  the 
jugular. 

But  it  is  better  for  his  kind  that  a  man  should  be  all 
ruffian;  for  it  is  a  caution  for  the  dullest  to  beware, 
when  such  hearts  are  stamped  upon  the  face,  and  gleam 
from  the  eyes.  It  is  the  gorgeous  snake  that  may  do 
the  greatest  mischief;  it  is  the  wretch  who  lives  in  good 
society  among  his  superiors,  as  if  they  were  his  peers, 
and  hides  his  mental  obliquity  under  the  polished  shield 
of  good  manners,  that  he  may  add  treachery  to  his  other 
vices,  and  stab  a  man  to  the  heart,  whose  arms  are  ex- 
panding to  embrace  him  as  a  friend.  Such  men  are 
found  in  cities,  and  as  fast  as  you  find  them  out,  I  re- 
commend that  you  cut  their  acquaintance. 


r  ■ 


mmm 


BOSTON    MERCHANT. 


185 


my  life, 

)inplete- 
onderful 
from  it 
I  army, 
s  among 
c  it  wa» 
.  They 
Iventure 
and  the 
with  the 
aeasures 

t  Indies, 
osa,  and 
ut  never 
itches  as 
d  shrink 
without 
ipon  the 

Id  be  all 
beware, 
id  gleam 

may  do 

in  good 
s  peers, 

d  shield 
lis  other 

are  ex- 
nen  are 
at,  1  re- 


in the  vicinity  of  the  last  of  these  towns  are  the 
richest  groves  of  lemon  and  orange  that  we  had  ever 
seen;  the  trees  were  nothing  less  in  magnitude  than 
those  of  our  vyrchurds,  and  were  bending  with  golden 
fruit. 

We  next  came  to  Mola  di  Gncta,  and  I  dare  say 
all  travellers  have  a  pleasing  remembrance  of  the  hotel. 
It  is  in  sight  of  the  castellated  city  of  Gael  a,  the  siege 
of  which  cost  the  French  so  much  powder,  and  stands 
upon  the  ruins  of  Cicero's  villa,  with  a  noble  garclen  of 
oranges  between  it  and  the  sea.  There  is  an  old  mon- 
ument near,  supposed  to  mark  the  spot  where  Cicero 
was  killed;  and  if  you  lack  the  disposition  to  reverence 
his  name,  read  his  life  by  Middlcton,  or  put  it  in  the 
hands  of  the  youngster  whom  you  refuse  to  send  '  to 
turq^p  the  sod.'  At  the  hotel  was  a  large  register  for 
travellers,  though  such  is  kept  at  every  inn  for  the  in- 
spection of  the  police;  we  found  in  it  the  highest 
names  in  the  litera'         md  aristocracy  of  England. 

The  next  town  thai  .  remember,  was  Capua,  magnifi- 
cent of  old,  though  anything  but  splendid  now.  We 
went  Into  a  church  that  had  a  few  pillars  of  the  ancient 
city,  and  while  the  clergy  smoked  their  accustomed 
pipe,  walked  slowly  along  the  road  to  Naples. 

Capua  is  of  about  the  size  of  Salem,  and  between  it 
and  Naples,  arc  two  other  towns  as  large.  This  level 
country  around  Naples  is  well  name''  the  *  Campagna 
Felice; '  it  is  the  most  fertile  part  of  tne  earth,  and  its 
vicinity  to  large  cities  insures  the  most  perfect  cultiva- 
tion. I  should  not  describe  it,  to  call  it  a  garden,  for 
you  never  saw  a  garden  cultivated  so  well;  there  is 
not  only  a  constant  succession  of  crops,  but  there  are 
many  crops  at  the  same  time;  fruits  on  the  trees,  vines 
running  in  festoons  from  tree  to  tree,  and  under  them 
esculents  and  grain. 
16* 


°.  li 


f;  1^' 


mm 


m 


186 


LETTERS    FROM    A 


I 


The  rains  do  not  supply  moisture  enough,  and  thero 
are  frequent  wells  where  water  is  raised  with  a  wheel, 
and  carried  into  a  reservoir,  whence  it  is  di:.tributed 
over  the  fields. 

The  hills  back  of  Naples  hid  all  view  of  the  city, 
which  we  did  not  see  till  we  had  fairly  entered  a  wide 
street  of  it,  and  then  we  saw  only  the  street  itself — it 
was  as  wide  as  our  avenue  on  the  neck,  and  paved  with 
flat  slabs  of  stone.  On  the  right  our  eyes  were  attract- 
ted  to  a  magnilicent  edifice,  where  the  poor  are  lodged 
like  nobles;  it  was  an  almshouse,  as  large  as  Central 
wharf.  Then  came  a  Botanic  Garden,  commenced  by 
Murat;  then  the  quadrangular  palace  containing  the 
Bourbon  Museum,  in  sculptures  scarcely  inferior  to  that 
of  the  Vatican. 

Next  we  passed  through  an  open  square,  the  Largo 
de'  Mercatello,  with  a  building  much  like  our  Quincy 
market,  except  that  it  is  surmounted  with  a  hundred 
statues  in  marble.  The  statues  are  personifications  of 
the  virtues  of  some  former  king,  who  left  them  for  the 
irony  of  posterity.  There  stands  his  Justice  in  marble, 
with  a  sword,  his  Mercy  with  a  gridiron  to  broil  heretics 
into  a  better  creed,  his  Faith  wit'i  a  crois,  and  his 
Charity  with  a  purse  of  stone.  He  has  all  the  virtues 
though  some  are  at  variance  with  the  others. 

At  sunset  we  alighted  at  a  French  hotel  in  the  Largo 
del  Castello,  an  open  a|)acn  near  the  quay  and  the  opera 
San  Carlo,  and  in  sight  of  Vesuvius.  Twenty  ragged 
fellows  made  a  plunge  at  our  baggage;  I  rescued  mine 
and  carried  it  myself  to  a  chamber,  and  on  similar  oc- 
casions I  advise  alb  travellers  to  become  their  own  por- 
ters. 

In  the  moonlight  evening  we  strolled  out  and  walked 
till  a  late  hour  about  the  city.  The  main  avenue  is  the 
Toledo,  and  it  is   worthy  of  so  fine   a  city;    it  was 


«^^»-» 


BOSTON    MERCHANT. 


187 


thronged  with  people  till  ten  o'clock,  as  our  streets  are 
thronged  only  on  hulida}'s;  but  at  Naples,  where 
every  one  is  idle,  every  day  is  a  holiday,  and  all  trades 
are  followed  in  the  open  streets.  Here  the  cobler  has 
his  bench,  the  tailor  his  seat,  the  barber  his  chair,  and  the 
money  changer  his  table.  Where  all  are  indolent,  many 
must  beg  and  steal,  and  in  this  our  first  walk  in  Naples, 
our  charity  was  tried  a  hundred  times.  Near  a  theatre, 
a  man  in  a  mask  said  that  he  must  beg  or  starve,  and 
we  supposed  it  the  lot  of  many  in  this  great  city;  we 
gave  him  a  silver  coin  and  he  ran  ofT  with  it  like  a  deer, 
making  protestations  of  eternal  remembrance. 

The  nocturnal  police  seemed  to  be  well  managed; 
there  was  a  military  guard  and  frequent  lights  in  the 
wider  streets,  but  into  the  alleys  we  had  been  cautioned 
not  to  enter.  ^    - 

At  Naples,  our  first  pleasure  was  to  taste  the  Lagry- 
ma  wine.  A  pistareen,  produced  from  Signore  Georges 
a  couple  of  the  best,  and  he  charged  us  but  double 
price,  which  was  reasonable,  as  he  is  a  Neapolitan,  and 
speaks  English.  This  is  an  excellent  wine,  without 
lead,  brandy,  or  logwood;  it  produces  a  gentle  eleva- 
tion of  the  mind,  such  as  we  feel  in  beholding  a  (ine 
picture,  listening  to  music,  or  the  recital  of  a  noble 
action. 

How  animated  I  become  when  I  write  of  wine,  and 
how  eloquent  you  were,  lately,  on  the  subject  of  roast 
beef.  But  here  it  is  hardly  possible  to  drink  good 
wine  to  excess;  it  is,  like  wit,  so  light  and  inoflensive. 

Your  German  is  not  altogether  temperate,  for  his 
Rhenish  wines  arc  potent;  but  France,  Spain, and  Italy, 
are  temperate  countries,  and  ii  is  as  rare  to  see  a  native 
drunk,  as  to  behold,  at  a  country  muster,  a  militia  man 
sober. 


i 


fTTT^""^ 


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M<>i«i>  4|u,,..  .,*• 


^^^1 


dW 


188 


LETTERS   FROM   A 


li 


We  are  a  nation  of  drunkards,  (I  like  to  speak  plain- 
ly) and  shall  be,  till  we  cultivate  the  grape;  let  every 
Temperance  Society  plant  a  vineyard,  and  they  will  de- 
stroy the  monster  they  make  war  upon.  You  have  read 
the  encouraging  letter  of  the  Chief  Justice;  I  should 
like  to  be  tried  by  him,  for  he  looks  at  the  favorable  aide; 
yet  I  fear  ihat  much  of  his  information  came  from  pub- 
licans, who  do  not  willingly  throw  discredit  upon  their 
own  taps.  When  they  have  among  their  honored  guests 
a  man  of  respect,  '  gravem  pietate  ac  mert/u,'  and  he 
inquires,  '  Landlord,  how  many  tiplers  have  you  ?  * — if 
I  know  Boniface,  he  will  reply,  *  none  your  Honor/ 
Still,  the  evil  is  shrinking  into  narrower  limits.  Let 
the  foul  demon  be  confined  to  his  own  jug,  and  miserable 
be  the  man  who  would  draw  the  cork,  as  the  fisherman 
in  the  Arabian  tale  released  the  horrid  genius  that 
swelled  to  a  monstrous  size  and  threatened  to  destroy 
his  liberator.  But  wit  and  humor,  poetry,  music,  sculp- 
ture, and  painting,  have  conspired  to  throw  flowers  over 
the  road  that  leads  to  intemperance  and  ruin. 

Th«re  are  at  Naples,  wine  vaults  of  a  great  many 
chambers  in  the  side  of  the  mountain.  Wine  of  a  year 
old  is  the  best,  and  may  be  had  as  cheap  as  cider  in 
New  England;  and  it  is  much  better  than  that  'table  ci- 
der '  over  which,  at  ray  board,  you  made  wry  faces.  At 
many  of  these  vaults  the  lower  people  make  little  parties 
and  drink  by  the  hour,  for  which  the  vintner  sets  his 
price  according  to  the  supposed  capacity  of  his  custom- 
ers, and  practice  has  rendered  hitn  so  shrewd  that  he 
can  guage  to  a  pint,  by  uie  eye. 

He  has  a  variety  of  artifices  to  interrupt  their  atten- 
tion to  the  cask;  the  most  common  is  to  make  them 
laugh,  and  a  moderate  jest  suffices  when  it  is  fortified 
by  good  wine.  Considerable  Cyprus  wine  is  used  at 
Naples,  and  Malaga  is  a  favorite,  but  there  is  little  spirit, 


BOSTON   MERCHANT. 


189 


k  plain- 
it  every 
will  de- 
lve read 
I  should 
)le  side; 
om  pub- 
on  their 
d  guests 
and  he 
t)u?'— if 
Honor.* 
ts.  Let 
liserable 
sherman 
tius  that 
»  destroy 
c,  sculp- 
ers  over 

at  many 

>f  a  year 

cider  in 

table  ci- 

3es.    At 

Q  parties 

sets  bis 

custom- 

that  he 

ir  atten- 
ce  them 
fortified 
used  at 
le  spirit) 


and  though  I  was  ten  weeks  at  Naples,  in  all  public 
places,  and  living  like  the  Neapolitans,  in  the  streets,  I 
saw  but  one  man  intoxicated,  and  he  could  walk. 

Permit  me  to  lament  that  things  should  not  be  called 
by  their  right  names;  we  say  that  a  mun  is  corned,  is 
illustrious,  elevated,  boozy,  when  we  should  say  plainly 
that  he  is  drunk.  Vice  loses  half  its  deformity  when 
you  give  it  a  new  name,  and  the  rogues  and  pickpockets 
in  London  shroud  their  practices  under  such  queer 
words,  called  slang,  that  to  steal,  to  lie,  and  to  murder, 
seems  half  a  jest. 


'  NO.  XL 

Sir — Our  first  walk  was  to  the  postoflice,  where, 
around  the  entrance,  (as  Cares  beset  the  infernal  gates) 
the  scribes  have  placed  their  chairs  and  tables  ;  for  it 
often  happens  that  men  receive  letters  who  cannot  read 
or  write. 

The  secretaries  sit  like  a  priest  in  the  confessional, 
the  hired  confidants  of  hopes,  fears  and  reproaches,  and 
cast  into  their  own  culd  formula  the  warm  dictates  Nea- 
politan love  and  afiection.  Yet  the  postofiice  at 
Naples  was  the  bcs^  ndministered  among  all  that  I  saw 
in  Europe. 

Having  visited  the  postofiice,  the  traveller  is  advised 
to  turn  through  the  square  of  the  castle,  by  the  Opera 
of  San  Carlo,  which  has  a  front  from  the  Parthenon,  to 
the  Toledo,  the  main  avenue  of  the  city,  which  is  full  of 
people  to  an  overflow.  The  beggar  jostles  the  prince, 
and  the  whiskered  soldier  the  shorn  friar  ;  all  walk  fast 
and  with  animated  faces,  as  if  in  pursuit  of  pleasure  or 
gain;  yet  not  one  in  twenty  has  anything  to  do. 


I 


I 


190 


LfeTTERS    FROM    A 


Turning  to  the  IcA  you  vrill  seo  a  troop  of  horse  in 
front  of  a  grand  house,  as  we  say  at  home,  or  of  a  pal- 
ace, in  the  languages  of  Europe,  and  it  is  dignified  bjr 
the  residence  of  the  King  of  the  Two  Sicilies.  It  is 
well  placed,  being  directly  on  the  Bay — in  sight  of  the 
whole  line  o.  shore,  and  Vesuvius,  and  under  the  Castle 
of  Saint  Elmo. 

Having  passsd  the  Palace  you  turn  to  the  right  for  a 
stroll  along  a  wide  street,  parallel  with  the  shore,  where 
you  see  those  who  sell  FruUa  di  Marcj  sea  fruit,  that  is, 
oysters  and  other  shell  fish.  The  oysters  arc  excellent, 
but  dear. 

This  walk  leads  to  the  Villa  Realc,  one  of  the  finest 
promenades  in  Italy.  It  has  next  the  sea  a  parapet, 
never  washed  by  the  sea,  for  there  are  no  tides  in  the 
Mediterranean  ;  yet  it  is  near  to  the  waters  which 
have  always  a  swell,  and  break  upon  the  sandy  beach. 
There  are  fountains,  statues,  trees,  flowers,  pavilions, 
and  people  in  the  costumes  of  all  nations,  (and  some 
of  them  are  glorious)  walking,  sitting  and  reclining 
among  them. 

Beyond  this  pretty  place  we  came  near  to  a  high 
hill,  and  the  road  led  us  to  a  long  and  straight  cavern 
directly  under  it.  This  was  the  grotto  of  Pausilippo, 
cut  in  remote' antiquity  through  the  rock,  wide  enough 
for  two  carriages  abreast,  and  fif)y  feet  in  height. 

At  the  entrance  was  a  fat  monk,  who  called  himself 
a  hermit,  sitting  in  a  basket  attached  to  ropes  to  draw 
himself  up  to  his  hermitage  one  hundred  feet  above  ; 
he  solicited  charity,  and  we  buttoned  our  pockets.  The 
grotto  seems  to  my  recollection  to  be  a  quarter  of  a  mile 
in  length,  and  is  dimly  lighted  by  two  orifices  from  the 
top  and  a  few  glow  worm  lamps.  It  is  cool  and  would 
be  agreeable,  but  for  the  dust  which  has  been  ground 
for  three  thousand  years,  and  is  so  fine,  that  it  is  easily 


ROSTON   MERCHANT. 


191 


lorse  in 


let  in  motion.  The  dust  is  a  great  evil  in  all  the  roads  ; 
there  is  little  rain,  and  you  return  from  a  walk  powder- 
ed like  a  miller.  This,  with  the  bright  sun,  we  si:[>- 
posed  to  be  the  reason  why  so  many  arc  blind.  We 
also  saw  a  good  number  of  deformed,  but  the  people 
who  were  not  deformed  might  furnish  models  for  an 
Apollo,  and  you  may  see  plenty  of  them  with  but  a  blue 
cloth  about  the  middle,  or  in  a  pair  of  trowacrs  ending 
midway  between  the  hip  and  the  knee.  Of  course  they 
arc  well  bronzed,  and  when  lying  still  under  the  arches 
look  like  statues. 

We  emerged  from  the  grotto  into  a  little  village,  and 
the  effect  was  beautiful,  to  come  at  once  from  such  a 
cavern  to  a  plain,  of  trees  and  vines,  shut  in  by  hills, 
with  every  leaf  and  blade  of  grUss  glittering  in  heavy 
dews  under  such  a  morning  sun  as  you  can  never  see 
in  the  latitude  of  forty-tvt^o. 

On  our  return,  a  stripling  accosted  us  to  request  the 
honour  of  shewing  the  tomb  of  Virgil,  who  he  said  was 
a  great  poet,  but  a  greater  magician,  for  such  is  his 
local  fame.  As  it  was  the  very  place  wc  had  come  to 
see,  we  walked  up  the  side  of  the  mountain,  and  knock- 
ed for  five  minutes  with  a  brick  upon  a  garden  gate, 
which  v.'as  at  last  opened,  and  we  passed  by  the  graves 
of  several  Frenchmen  and  Englisiimen,  to  the  sepulchre 
of  Virgil,  It  is  on  the  side  of  the  mountain,  almost 
directly  over  the  grotto,  in  shape  a  dome,  and  in  size 
sufficient  to  hold  five  or  six  persons  ;  there  are  one  or 
two  apertures  for  light,  and  niches  in  the  wall  for  urns. 
We  went  upon  the  top  and  broke  a  branch  from  a  small 
myrt.lfi  that  is  there  growing,  which  I  have  since  pre- 
sented to  a  Reverend  President.  If  Maro  had  sought 
over  Italy  for  a  more  charming  spot  he  could  not  havo 
found  it ;  and  there  is  the  authority  of  tradition,  (v^nich 
in  locality  is  strong)  and  of  tolerably  accurate  descrip- 


') 


>   111 


193 


LETTERS    FROM   A 


I 


if 


Hon,  by  old  authors,  that  this  is  indeed  tho  tomb  of 
Virgil. 

At  the  toot  of  the  hill  wo  entered  a  church,  where 
there  in  a  monument  to  Snnnazaro,  whose  epitaph  cx- 
preoscH  the  vicinity  of  his  tomb  to  thut  of  Virgil,  and 
the  reKcniblancc  of  their  strains. 

The  extent  of  tho  Pny  of  Naples,  from  one  cope  to 
the  other,  is,  I  suppose,  twentyfivc  miles,  and  there  is  a 
smooth  beach  of  dark  sand  round  the  whole  circuit. 
There  is  almost  always,  even  in  calms,  a  heavy  surf, 
and  it  is  very  pleasant  in  a  still  day.  to  walk  ahmg  the 
beach  and  see  it  break  over.  Pui  ^lel  with  the  beach 
is  a  street  of  many  miles  in  extent. 

In  the  middle  of  the  bay  is  Capri,  an  island  of  a  few 
hills,  and  on  the  summits  are  ancient  towers.  At  sun- 
set, when  the  waters  aro  smooth  and  reflect  as  in  a  mir- 
ror the  gorgeous  skies,  Capri  seems  like  a  cloud  of  pur- 
ple floating  in  the  air,  for  the  element  below  seems  as 
pure  as  that  above. 

This  is  the  spot  where  the  third  Csesar  passed  his 
cheerful  old  age  in  philosophic  retirement,  and  from 
whence  he  issued  those  beneficent  edicts  thut  constitute 
an  enviable  part  of  his  fame.  The  science  of  govern- 
ment was  then  in  its  infancy,  and  '\i'  ex  post  facto  penalties 
were  sometimes  inflicted,  it  cannot  be  denied  that  tho 
Romans  had  lo  degenerated  us  to  need  wholesome  se- 
verity; and  who  was  a  fitter  person  to  administer  it  than 
Tiberius? 

Solitude  never  made  a  good  man;  it  may  suspend 
the  operation  of  evil  passions,  but  cannot  eradicate  them. 
Where  there  is  no  temptation  there  is  no  resistance, 
and  can  be  no  virtue — for  it  is  virtue  to  choose  wisely 
between  good  and  evil,  when  the  will  inclines  to  the 
latter. 


BOSTON    MKRfllANT. 


193 


omb  of 

,  where 
nph  cx- 
gil,  and 

cape  to 
icro  is  a 

circuit, 
ivy  surf, 
long  the 
e  beach 

of  a  few 
At  sun- 
in  a  mir- 
d  of  pur- 
}cenis  as 

issed  his 

ind  from 

onstitute 

govern- 

)enaUies 

that  tho 

30ine  se- 

r  it  than 

suspend 
te  them, 
distance, 
wisely 
s  to  the 


Yet,  whon  a  poor  and  just  uinn  sees  iniquity  riding 
in  n  coach  and  bespattering  hiiii,  perchance,  with  thq 
mud,  or  when  he  himself  becomes  un  object  of  undeserv- 
ed reproach,  he  may  feel  a  wisii  to  retire  from  his  fel- 
lows beyond  tho  contagion  of  vice,  and  train  himself  in 
a  better  principle. 

But  solitary  animals  are  the  most  savage.  The  tiger 
prowls  alone;  the  adder  has  no  venomous  mate,  and 
tho  vulture  no  comrade  iti  rapiiio.  Jlermity  are  mud  or 
misanthropic,  or  both;  and  for  cool  systematic  cc-^lty 
that  studies  tortures  with  the  ardor  of  a  rulinfr  pas- 
sion, there  is  none  like  amoiik,  or  a  monarch  ivao  ti-^es 
one  to  be  his  prime  minister.  Men  are  not  too  good, 
(so  far  T  ,\i  i  willing  to  admit  that  I  speak  f<<r  myself) 
and  in  solitude  they  study  their  own  amiable  hearts, 
which  are  tiie  mirrctrs  that  reflect  or  distort  (but  never 
flatter)  the  dispositions  of  others.  To  gain  knowledge 
of  what  is  obscure,  men  compare  tho  known  with  the 
unknown,  and  as  all  men  have  knowledge  of  their  own 
evil  passions,  they  infer  the  existence  of  somctiiing 
worse  in  their  neighbours.      ,f,-_ 

Tiberius  looked  into  his  own  tender  heart,  and  some- 
times saw  in  it  suspicion,  cruelty,  and  treachery;  this 
generated  a  rancor  to  all  mankind,  for  how  could  he 
love  those  who  seemed  worse  than  liiinself.  Therefore 
he  spoke  of  his  kind  in  sarcasms,  and  his  benefits  to 
men  were  in  the  ratio  of  his  praise.  lie  inflicted  upon 
them  such  little  inquietudes,  as  his  limited  means  allow- 
ed, and,  (as  we  hate  in  the  proportion  that  we  injure)  it 
became  a  matter  of  course,  that  the  Emperor's  hatred 
of  his  species  should  amount  to  fury.  Uo  not  marvel 
that  I  am  sour,  lor  I  have  been  sucking  a  lemon. 

You  will  sometimes  hear  the  situation  of  lioston  com- 
pared with  that  of  Naples,  but  there  is  only  that  sort  of 
parallel  between  them  that  Fluellen  found  between 
17 


.'  il 


i  ■) 


It 


U 


pp 


194 


LETTERS   FROM    A 


y    i 


Monmouth  and  Maccdon.  There  is  no  city  upon  earth 
like  Naples;  though  Lisbon  is  beautiful  from  the  river, 
and  Genoa  also  from  the  Gulf;  but  they  are  not  under 
the  Sicilian  skies,  nor  are  they  surrounded  by  much  of 
the  beautiful  or  the  sublime. 

At  Naples  there  is  a  mountain  forever  rolling  it»  vol- 
ume of  sinokc  and  flame,  standing  as  u  magniflcent 
natural  pharos;  and  how  mean  in  c:»ni;>ari3  3n  was  even 
the  great  Colossus  at  Rhodes,  holding  a  burning  tar- 
barrel  in  his  hand,  to  light  the  fleets  in  sailing  between 
his  legs. 

Naples  is  built  chiefly  upon  a  slight  eminence,  though 
in  the  midst  of  it  there  is  a  mountain,  surrounded  by  a 
castle  large  enougli  to  swallow  Bunker's  Hill,  and  pick 
its  teeth  with  the  monument. 

In  front  of  the  city  is  that  noble  Bay,  and  on  other 
sides  a  plain  of  such  fertility  and  beauty,  ni)wiiig  with 
milk  and  honey,  corn,  wine,  and  oil,  that  it  is  well  named 
the  *  Fortunate  Country.'  'J'he  city  cannot  soon  be- 
come tedious,  even  to  a  restless  traveller,  there  are  so 
many  objects  of  natural  grandeur,  historical  and  fabu- 
lous interest,  and  such  monuments  of  a  race  of  men, 
that  are  now  known  only  by  a  lew  magnificent  relics. 
There  is  Herculaneum  and  Pompeii,  with  their  gems, 
manuscripts,  statues,  pictures,  tombs,  temples,  amphi- 
theatres, and  streets;  there  is  Misenus,  Avernus,  Cumie, 
Baia,  and  Capua,  with  recollections  that  a  scholar  cher- 
ishes as  a  miser  counts  his  gold. 

Then  it  is  the  cheapest  country  to  live  in,  not  except- 
ing even  Kentucky,  where  a  dollar  buys  ten  biishels  of 
corn.  A  good  house  may  be  rented  in  the  suburbs  for 
six  dollars  a  year,  and  corn,  wine,  etc.  are  so  clieap, 
that  it  is  marvellous  to  see  so  many  wretches  starving. 
At  Castel-a-mare,  a  large  town  under  a  mountain  on 
the  opposite  side  of  the  bay,  I  am  convinced  a  man 


BOSTON    MERCHANT. 


195 


n  earth 
c  river, 
t  under 
nuch  of 

it-^  vol- 
nificent 
iis  even 
ng  tar- 
jctweea 

,  though 
led  by  a 
ind  pick 

on  other 
iiig  with 
I!  named 
joon  be- 
e  arc  so 
nd  fabu- 
of  men, 
t  relics, 
ir  gems, 
,  arnphi- 
;,  Curn^, 
iar  cher- 

except- 
ishcls  of 
urbs  for 
()  cheap, 
starving, 
ntain  on 
d  a  man 


may  live  we'd  on  fifty  dollars  a  year.  But  then  ho  must 
carry  the  money  with  him,  for  in  cheap  countries,  though 
many  'flullars  may  be  saved,  a  penny  is  very  hard  to  be 
had.  But  it  is  nrtt  in  human  nature  to  be  contented 
with  whft  we  have,  and  at  this  town  we  raised  the  envy 
of  an  old  lady,  by  telling  her  that  the  fowls  in  Aniciica 
laid  two  eggs  in  a  day,  whereas  her  own  afforded  but 
one.  ^       ♦ 

In  Naples  there  are  no  Jews,  and  we  saw  but  few 
Turks.  The  foreign  ships  are  chiefly  English  and  Aus- 
trian. The  monks  are  numerous,  especially  a  huge 
race  of  br'.ofooted  friars,  that  leave  a  track  in  the  sand 
like  an  ei  phant's.  Their  hair  is  close  shaven  as  low 
as  the  ears,  tliey  wear  a  brown  cloak  to  the  knees,  and 
have  a  compitxion  that  partakes  more  of  the  violet  than 
the  pale  rose. 

The  churches  arc  less  splendid  thnn  at  Romej^ut  all 
places  of  amusemont  are  more  clepant  here.  A,  stran- 
ger is  surprised  to  see  all  mechanical  trades  followed  in 
the  street.  Basket  weavers,  shoemakers,  barbers,  Uj^ 
even  workers  in  inetalu,  pay  little  rent  for  shops,  MKt^ 
the  climfite  is  so  dry  that  a  rain  seldom  comes  to  inter- 
rupt tlieir  industry.  But  if  in  the  streets  there  are  so 
many  at  work  there  are  countless  throngs  of  the  idle; 
and  all  the  avenues  are  filled  with  people,  as  our  streets 
are  on  some  great  holiday. 

All  kinds  of  jugplin;!^'  feats  arc  practised  at  the  cor- 
ners, and  Punch  and  i  tc  puppets  have  the  same  open 
theatre;  ytt  before  the  hocus  pocus  man  begins,  he 
sends  round  his  cap  after  the  manner  of  a  contribution 
box,  and  I  have  known  it  returned  as  dry. 

You  would  think  yourself  at  a  beggar's  opera;  there 
are  so  many  to  solicit,  that  it  is  almost  a  hopeless  task 
to  give.  In  self-defence  we  hardened  our  hearts  by 
rubbing  a  brickbat  over  them,  and  were   soon  known 


^^ 


')^ 


wm 


196 


LETTERS    FROM    A 


for  denials.  The  beggars  seem  to  have  a  system  of 
telegraph,  and  the  information  '  here  is  a  gentleman 
that  gives,'  travels  faster  than  the  wight  who  would  fain 
run  away  from  his  character  because  it  is  too  good; 
though  in  your  city  I  have  known  people  try  to  escape 
their  reputation  for  a  contrary  reason. 


Pi 


NO.  XII. 

Sir — We  went  on    a  beautiful    day,   when   the  sky 

was  as  blue  as  Miss 's  stockings,  to  Pompeii,  and 

what  we  there  saw  will  be  what  I  shall  last  forget,  ex- 
cept a  flogging  at  school. 

^F<m^an  ct  hcoc  oUm  meminisse  juvabit.^  Indulge  me  with 
the  relation.  My  schoolmaster  had  our  Yankee  habit 
of  poking  the  fire  :  when  it  was  burning  well,  he  could 

,ke  it  burn  better.  This  is  a  good  principle  to  act 
n  in  philosophy,  though  in  medicine  it  brought  the 
poor  hypochondriac  to  his  grave. . 
**^  Well,  Sir,  just  before  Magister  Pokeweed  came  in 
(for  he  it  was)  and  on  a  bitter  cold  day,  I  heated  the 
tongs  to  a  changeable  blue  heat  and  laid  a  smoking 
brand  upon  the  hearth.  The  pedagogue's  eyes  glis- 
tened with  pleasure.  He  seized  the  heated  forceps 
with  both  his  hands,  but  threw  them  down  as  if  they 
had  been  vipers,  and  uttered,  in  his  rage  and  pain,  such 
imprecations  as  should  have  blistered  his  tongue. 

It  is  hard  to  keep  a  good  secret  ;  it  is  hoarding  trea- 
sure that  belongs  to  the  public.  It  soon  transpired  that 
I  was  the  urchin  that  had  taken  retaliatory  measures  on 
Pokeweed's  fingers  ;  for  many  times  had  he  warmed 
my  own.     I  had  the  heroic  satisfaction  that  is  the  foun- 


BOSTON    MERCHANT. 


197 


dati'^!*  of  all  wars,  of  annoying  my  enemy  as  much  as  he 
could  injure  me,  and  dealing  to  him  a  larger  measure  of 
mortification  and  ungratified  fury. 

But  he  is  now  a  judge,  and  it  is  but  a  week  since  our 
hands  met  in  amity,  for  who  but  a  savage  would  carry 
into  the  world  the  little  enmities  of  the  school. 

We  rode  to  Pompeii  in  a  calash,  drawn  by  one 
small,  spirited  horse.  It  is  a  sort  of  hug^nj,  holding  two 
gentlemen  within  and  half  dozen  vagabonds  clinging 
without.  The  charioteer  stands  on  aboard  behind, and 
drives  like  Jehu,  who  drove  furiously.  He  hires  his 
horse  by  the  day,  and  is  willing  to  drive  faster  than  is 
needful,  to  get  the  worth  of  his  money;  as  I  have 
known  countrymen  continue  to  cat  when  hunger 
was  sated,  (and  that  was  not  done  in  a  minute)  lest  the 
host  should  gain  too  much  from  their  moderation.  This 
you  will  call  a  calumny,  and  I  suppose  it  is. 

We  gave  our  coachman  a  dollar  a  day,  and  the  prom- 
ise of  a  carline,  if  he  would  be  on  his  best  behaviour, 
which  he  promised  and  perhaps  performed,  though  he 
conducted  very  ill.  We  took  a  fair  start  from  the  quay, 
and  descended  the  hill  as  if  life  depended  upon  speed. 
Wc  crossed  the  bridge  Madalina,  a»id  passed  by  the 
granary  belonging  to  the  king,  who  monopolizes  grain, 
wool,  lottery  tickets,  and  tobacco  ;  but  it  would  cost 
him  his  throne  to  lay  a  paw  upon  macaroni.  The 
granary  is  as  wide  as  Faneuil  Hall  (more  or  less)  and 
I  suppose  half  a  mile  in  length.  At  the  other  end  we 
paused  to  look  at  a  few  miserable  galley  slaves  digging 
in  the  road.  Slavery  in  its  best  disguise  is  '  bitter  ;'  but 
here  it  is  in  its  naked,  horrid  deformity.  T  know  not 
how  many  slaves  there  are,  but  there  must  be  many, 
for  the  sound  of  chains  as  wc  passed  the  grated  win- 
dows was  as  if  hundreds  were  shaken  at  once.  I  have 
never  seen  them  in  large  bodies,  but  they  are  sometimes 
17* 


■♦     J 


*» 


111 


i 


mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm 


198 


LETTERS    RFOM   A 


sweeping  the  streets  in  companies  of  half  a  dozen, 
chained  to  each  other,  and  under  the  muzzle  of  a 
blunderbuss.  They  are  fed  so  ill  that  they  are  fain  to 
eat  the  offal  of  the  streets.  I  have  not  known  them 
beg,  but  mute  solicitation  is  the  strongest,  and  we  seldom 
passed  one  without  giving  him  a  trifle,  which  was  re- 
ceived with  a  start  of  surprise  that  any  one  should  caro 
for  his  necessities.  Body  and  mind  have  such  con- 
nexion that  if  the  limbs  are  shackled  the  intellect  is  re- 
pressed and  the  whole  man  degraded.  The  Italian 
word  to  express  everything  base  and  vile  is  cattivo, 
though  at  first  designating  only  a  captive. 

Portici,  about  four  miles  from  Naples,  is  a  city  as  large 
as  Portsmouth,  and  there  the  monarch  has  a  palace  and 
gardens.  The  palace  is  a  quadrangle  with  an  area 
within,  through  which  the  street  passes  under  opposite 
arches  in  the  wall.  This  town  is  directly  over  Hercu- 
laneum,  which  is  covered  eighty  feet  with  a  hard  shell 
of  lava,  so  that  here  is  one  town  upon  another,  and  the 
living  are  walking  about  over  the  dead,  as  cool  as  un- 
dertakers, or  as  if  they  themselves  were  never  to  die, 
and  be  trampled  on.  Herculancum  was  discovered  less 
than  a  century  ago,  by  men  who  were  digging  for  water. 
It  hp*?  been  largely  excavated,  and  we  went  into  its 
theatre,  though  as  our  torch  burnt  dimly  it  seemed  to  us 
a  cavern,  as  in  truth  it  was.  The  statues  have  been  re- 
moved to  the  museum  at  Naples.  Beyond  Portici  are 
many  towns. 

At  two  miles  further  we  encountered  the  van  of  a 
most  ferocious  army,  every  soldier  booted  to  the  knee, 
and  whiskered  to  the  chin.  '  Cedant  arma  togce^^  is  not 
the  fashion  of  Naples.  The  military  leaves  the  civil  at 
an  awful  distance  in  the  rear.  In  consequence  of  this 
happy  state  of  things,  a  bloody-minded  corporal  took 
our  horse  a  prisoner  of  war,  and  led  him  aside  from  the 


»  dozen, 
zle  of  a 
re  fain  to 
wn  them 
re  seldom 
J  was  re- 
fold care 
uch  con- 
ect  is  re- 
e  Italian 
is  cattivo, 

7  as  large 

alace  and 

an  area 

opposite 

r  Hercu- 

lard  shell 

,  and  the 

)ol  as  un- 

;r  to  die, 

^ered  less 

or  water. 

into  its 

Tied  to  us 

been  re- 

ortici  are 

van  of  a 
the  knee, 
CB,'  is  not 
le  civil  at 
ce  of  this 
oral  took 
I  from  the 


BOSTON    MERCITANT. 


199 


road,  while  the  army  deployed  before  us.  T.iere  were 
ten  thousand  of  these  heroes,  dressed  in  blue,  and  it 
was  two  liours  before  our  steed  could  obtain  his  dis- 
charge. 

This  ride  of  ours  was  parallel  with  the  shore,  and  but 
a  short  distance  from  it  ;  but  near  to  Pompeii,  we  turn- 
ed abruptly  to  the  led,  by  a  wide  turnip  field,  and  came 
at  once  upon  the  little  town  that  looks  as  fresh  as  ever 
after  the  lapse  of  eighteen  hundred  years.  It  is  in  a 
spot  the  most  beautiful  under  the  sun  ;  it  is  worth  the 
danger  of  an  earthquake  and  Inva  to  live  in  such  a  par- 
adise. The  earth  that  still  covers  two  thirds  of  the 
city  is  but  light  dust  and  ashes  that  fell  so  deep  at  a 
tremendous  blast  from  Mount  Vesuvius. 

This  is  six  miles  from  the  crater.  The  ashes  reached 
but  little  above  the  highest  houses,  though  none  of  them 
were  high.  These  ashes  in  coming  this  distance  had 
been  somewhat  cooled,  and  so  well,  in  this  dry  climate, 
have  preserved  what  was  under  them,  that  the  paintings 
and  stucco  of  the  walls  are  to  this  hour  as  fresh  as  the 
pictures  in  your  "?wn  house.  The  roofs  only  (having 
been  of  wood)  have  decayed,  so  that  at  first  sight  you 
might  be  reminded  of  Asmodous,  who  unroofed  the 
houses  at  Madrid,  for  the  instruction  of  Don  Cleofas, 
as  I  shall  describe  for  yours,  those  of  Pompeii. 

We  gave  the  cicerone,  who  derives  his  title  from 
Tully  himself,  half  a  dollar  for  e.xplanations,  and  he 
i..urned  the  worth  of  our  money.  Yet  as  we  had  a 
plan  of  the  streets,  we  could  have  conducted  ourselves 
but  for  that  culpable  compliance  with  evil  customs  that 
has  often  led  us  into  greater  expenses. 

Let  us  begin  at  the  gate  that  led  to  Naples.  It  is  in 
a  charming  spot,  and  near  it  are  tombs  with  inscrip- 
tions, where  humble  people  (such  is  the  lottery  of  fame) 
have  had  the  fortune  to  leave  their  names  to  posterity, 


wm 


200 


LETTERS   FROM   A 


while  in  these  timeH,  even  a  great  man  sometime  sur- 
vives his  rcputotion. 

In  this  quarter  arc  the  ruins  of  Cicero's  villa,  the 
third  we  had  seen,  though  the  other  two  were  named 
on  better  authority.  Some  of  his  villas  were  presents 
fioiu  his  rich  clients,  as  like  our  Wirt,  the  Roman  ora- 
tor drew  causes  from  the  most  distant  parts  of  the  coun- 
try; for  eloquence  is  like  the  fairy  gift,  that  turns 
word?,  as  t!icy  tall  from  the  lips,  into  rubies,  diamonds^ 
and  pearls. 

In  passing  down  the  streets  we  looked  into  many  of  the 
houses.  One  of  them  was  a  baker's,  and  had  the  very 
stone  mills  in  which  he  uiude  his  flour  ;  for  in  those 
days  the  baker  ground  the  wheat,  whereas  he  grinds 
now  only  his  customers. 

Another  shop  appeared  to  have  been  for  wine.  There 
was  a  marble  counter  as  bright  as  when  new,  with  a 
stain  from  the  liquors,  and  a  place  worn  by  a  frequent 
Betting  down  of  the  cup.  The  signs  were  over  the 
doors,  painted  on  the  bricks  of  the  walls.  The  letters 
are  like  those  we  call  italics,  though  in  the  most  of  the 
monuments  elsewhere,  they  are  like  the  best  of  our 
capitals. 

Next  we  vi;'?ited  a  few  baths  lately  excavated.  They 
are  in  excellent  taste,  with  figures  painted  en  the  plaster 
of  the  waills.  The  baths  seem  to  have  been  in  Italy 
almost  a  necessary  of  life,  and  those  of  the  emperors, 
are  so  magnificent  that  after  a  lapse  of  so  many  centu- 
ries tlieir  very  ruins  are  grand. 

We  came  soon  to  a  forum  that  would  hold  as  many 
people  as  Faneuil  Hall,  and  at  one  end  was  the  little 
rostrum,  which  for  want  of  a  stump,  the  orator  as- 
cended to  harangue  Mie  multitude  in  good  Latin. 

There  was  a  temple  to  I  sis,  with  the  altar  and  a!) 
things  entire.     The  Romans  seemed  to  give  easy  ad- 


BOSTON    MERCHANT. 


301 


inittance  from  other  countries  of  the  knowledge  of  every 
God  but  the  True.  Here  it  was,  as  I  think,  that  the 
statue  of  Jupiter  in  terra  colla  was  found.  It  is  in  the 
Museum  at  Naples.  The  material  is  a  coarse  earthen 
ware,  thought  to  lo  more  lasting  than  marble  itself,  so 
that  the  better  way  to  preserve  the  features  of  a  great 
man,  may  be  to  fashion  them  in  the  clay  whereof  he  is 
compounded,  as  the  brown  jug  was  moulded  in  the  de- 
composition of  Fat  Toby.  As  the  grave  digger  builds 
stronger  than  the  carpenter,  so  may  the  potter's  ware 
outlast  the  labors  of  the  sculptor. 

We  visited  the  two  theatres,  with  stone  seats  rising 
in  the  form  of  a  semicircle.  There  was  no  division  into 
boxes,  but  each  seat  had  a  number,  and  the  tickets  had 
numbers  to  match.  The  stages  were  not  deep,  and  had 
little  room  for  the  actors,  or  the  perspective  of  the 
scenes.  Our  Forty  Thieves,  and  armies  of  three  pla- 
toons, would  have  had  no  space  to  manoeuvre  in. 

The  Amphitheatre  would  be  admired  at  Rome  itself. 
Whenever  the  humane  Romans  had  wild  beasts  to  be 
worried,  or  gladiators  to  be  butchered,  they  accorded 
to  them  a  splendid  arena,  lor  few  men  grudge  expense 
upon  their  pleasures.    '  . 

The  private  houses  arc  generally  sjnall  and  built  after 
the  manner  of  the  modern  ores  in  Italy.  In  the  middle 
there  is  a  court,  and  from  this  is  the  entrance  to  the 
rooms  which  were  none  of  them  large;  few  of  them 
fifteen  feet  square  and  many  were  less.  The  most 
commodious  was  the  house  of  Diomed,  unless  I  have 
forgotten  names,  though  I  have,  in  Parson  Evans's 
phrase,  a  '  good  sprag  memory.'  The  house  occupies 
a  long  front  on  the  street,  and  back  is  a  quadrangle, 
(which  might  have  been  lawn  or  garden,)  enclosed  by  a 
half-subterranean  suite  of  apartments.  Here  Diomed 
kept  his  good  wines,  and  the  large  ten  gallon  earthen 


I 


I. 


i 

f 


202 


LETTERS    PnOM    A 


jars  are  there  to  this  day.     It  was  in  this  cellar  that 
about  twenty  skeletons  were  found. 

In  such  a  retreat  the  people  could  not  have  been 
immediately  killed.  One  of  them  was  found  resting 
against  the  wall  in  an  upright  posture,  and  another 
seems  to  have  made  a  hole  in  the  partition  with  an  axe 
that  was  found  near. 

The  most  of  the  inhabitants  must  have  escaped  with 
their  valuable  effects,  f*r  not  many  bodies  were  found, 
or  much  gold  and  silver.  The  bodies  were  discovered 
mostly  in  the  better  houses,  whence  I  infer  that  the 
higher  class  was  the  last  to  run,  having  had  more  to  lose, 
and  having  been  less  subject  to  panic  than  the  lower 

Though  when  the  burst  came  it  was  like  that  of  ten 
thousand  mortars,  yet  there  was  reasonable  warning 
that  it  was  about  to  come,  for  before  an  eruption  the 
wells  are  troubled,  the  earth  trembles,  and  noise  and 
iiame  come  out  of  the  mountain. 

We  returned  to  Naples  in  the  belief  that  the  ancients 
had  many  household  comforts,  and  more  elegance  than 
is  found  at  present  in  the  world.  All  the  utensils  and 
furniture  found  at  Pompeii,  and  they  are  various  and 
many,  are  in  the  Museum.  The  paintings  were  remov- 
ed to  Portici,  where  they  occupy  an  apartment  in  the 
palace,  and  are  worth  the  examination  of  a  modern  ar- 
tist. 

On  another  day  we  hired  a  horse  and  man  for  an  ex- 
cursion, to  the  places  that  lie  adjacent  to  Miseno,  a 
point  that  acquired  its  name  from  the  trumpeter  of 
iEneas.  We  galloped  through  the  grotto  of  Pausillippo, 
with  very  little  care  for  the  bones  of  foot  passengers, 
who  when  two  carriages  meet,  stand  upright  against  the 
walls  and  must  contract  themselves  to  their  smallest  di- 
mensions. There  are  a  few  days  in  the  year  when  the 
sun  near  his  setting  shines  through  the  whole  cavern 


BOSTON    MERCHANT. 


203 


ellar  that 

ave  been 
i  resting 
I  another 
th  an  axe 

aped  with 
jrc  found, 
liscovered 
-  that  the 
re  to  lose, 
!  lower, 
lat  of  ten 
;  warning 
iption  the 
noise  and 

e  ancients 
ance  than 
ensits  and 
irious  and 
re  remov- 
cnt  in  the 
lodern  ar- 

for  an  ex- 
Miseno,  a 
npeter  of 
lusillippo, 
issengers, 
gainst  the 
nallest  di- 
when  the 
le  cavern 


upon  the  village  beyond.     A  rapid  movement  brought 
us,  af^er  several  turns,  to  the  quiet  little  Lake  Agnano, 
surrounded  by  steep  hills,  and  on  the  top  of  one  is  the . 
high  and  airy  convent  of  the  Camalduli,  for  your  monk, 
like  a  raven,  knows  how  to  choose  a  lofty  place  for  his 
nest.     This  little  lake  used  to  have  a  wonder  of  its 
own;  that   is,  the   Grotta  del  Cane,  or  the  Dog-hole. 
But  knowledge  has  stripped  it  of  all  attractions,  since 
any  chemist  can  make  the  gas  that  issues  frorr.  the  bot- 
tom of  this  cave.     It  is  like  Lampedo's  medicines,  hu- 
manely tried  upon  a  dog;  and  that  emblem  of  fidelity 
has  oiten  been  the   victim  of  experimental  philosophy 
The  hole  has  rather  an  ill  look,  and  the  dog  seemed 
aware  of  the  nature  of  our  business,  for  he  howled  pite- 
ously,  and  struggled   like  a  salmon  to   break  his  line 
His  blood-thirvSty  master,  for  the   lucre  of  a  piatareen, 
held  his  nose  to  the  ground,  when  poor  Tray  gave  us  an 
involuntary   specimen  of  suspended  animation.     When 
thrown  upon  the  grass,  he  recovered  in  five  minutes, 
and  came  and  fawned  upon  his  truculent  master.     We 
tried  one  breath  at  the  gas,  which  took  us  by  the  noses 
after  the  manner  of  good  mustard. 

This  lake,  like  every  other  near  Naples,  fills  the 
crater  of  an  old  volcano,  and  we  went  (o  another  dell 
of  the  same  origin,  so  steep  that  a  slight  wall  on  the 
edge  is  enough  to  confine  the  deer  and  other  game  that 
is  kept  there  for  the  recreation  of  the  King.  This  is 
called  Astroni,  and  there  is  a  hunting  lodge  in  the 
woods,  which  is  filled  with  bucks  that  have  no  fear  of 
man,  and  wild  boars  as  gentle  as  kittens. 

This  whole  dell  reminded  us  of  the  A^ernus  of  Vir- 
gil, though  Avernus  at  present   is  more  bare  of  trees 
than  the  Boston  Common,  for  there  is  not  even  a  huge 
.  ^elm  for  dreams  to  flutter  upon.     Next  we  went  back  a 
mile,  to  get  into  the  road  along  the  shore  that  leads  to 


1 


11  ■■ 


■PIP 


mpinp 


MPRHPPMMIV 


504 


LETTERS    FROM    A 


m 


Puzzuoli,  opposite  to  Baia  and  Miseno,  with  a  fine 
sweep  of  bay  between.  These  points  were  formerly 
united  by  a  bridge,  and  many  of  the  arches  now  rise 
above  the  waters,  having  btood  time,  water,  tempest, 
and  caithquako,  since  the  days  of  Caligula. 

This  is  something  of  a  town,  with  a  hotel  and  a  few 
coffee-houses,  a  temple  to  Augustus  converted  into  a 
church,  and  the  foot  of  a  gigantic  statue  to  that  best  of 
princes,  the  placable  Tiberius.  Just  without  the  town 
is  the  temple  of  Jupiter  Serapis,  that  has  now  a  few^ 
grand  l)iit  {)i..str:i((  d  columns  of  variegated  marble. 
What  a  monument  one  of  them  would  be  on  the  Ex- 
change, surmounted  by  a  figure  of  Sir  Thomas  Gresham, 
or  some  equally  distinguished  merchant  of  our  timcH  ! 
We  need  not  go  far,  to  find  some  who  have  given  pal- 
aces to  knowledge,who  have  made  the  East  their  tributa- 
ry, and  whom  it  would  be  unjust  to  compare  as  men,  with 
the  best  prince  or  merchant  of  the  house  of  Medici. 

Next  we  turned  to  the  right,  up  hill,  by  the  ruins  of 
Cicero's  villa  to  a  convent  where  they  reverently  shew 
the  block  on  which  Saint  January  was  beheaded,  and  I 
seem  to  remember  that  there  is  a  picture  by  that  paint- 
er of  tortures  and  martyrdoms,  commonly  called  Spag- 
nuolctto.  The  friars  were  bowling  on  the  green  award: 
we  joined  in  the  sport  and  beat  them  easily. 

We  then  walked  about  the  pleasant  fields,  and  came 
to  excavations  in  the  rock  on  the  hill  side,  so  extensive 
and  regular  with  arches  and  pillars,  that  it  is  easy  to  be 
lost  among  them.  I  can  form  no  conjecture  for  what 
they  were  intended.  We  visited  an  amphitheatre  with 
the  inside  overgrown  with  bushes,  though  the  circuit  of 
the  walls  is  complete,  and  underneath  are  the  dens 
where  the  beasts  were  kept  for  the  amusement  oi^  that 
more  rational  animal,  man. 


raiiwiBw^fWHmPwrTs?^ 


h  a  fine 
Ibrrnerly 
now  rise 
tempest, 

nd  a  few 
d    into  a 
at  best  of 
the  town 
,w   a  few, 
1  marble, 
the  Ex- 
Gresham, 
ir  timotJ ! 
>ivcn  pal- 
ir  tributa- 
men,  with 
^dici. 
c  ruins  of 
ntly  shew 
cd,  and  I 
lut  paint- 
ed Spag- 
jn  swavd: 

and  came 
extensive 
iasy  to  be 
for  what 
sat  re  with 
circuit  of 
the  dens 
nt  o[^  that 


BOSTON    MERCHANT. 


NO.  XIII. 


206 


Sir — We  came  to  a  close  in  the  last  letter,  at  an  old 
amphitheatre.  Next  we  went  to  a  smoking  and  sound- 
ing vallej,  that  was  a  type  of  Tartarus.  The  hills  that 
overhang  it  are  encrusted  with  copperas,  or  something 
similar  in  appearance,  and  there  is  a  smell  of  brimstone 
that  is  rather  suspicious.  Moreover,  in  the  valley,  we 
evidently  walked  on  a  crust,  or  shell,  which  sounded 
under  our  feet;  I  should  not  like  to  fall  through. 

Mr  Carter  thinks,  that  in  Yankee  land,  such  a  place 
would  have  been  bored  into;  so  I  think  too,  if  the  peo- 
ple should  bore  half  as  much  as  I  do.  All  extremes  are 
near  to  each  other;  underneath  is  fire  and  brimstone, 
but  on  the  surface,  in  some  parts,  is  the  most  beautiful 
heath  we  ever  beheld.  Smoke  ascends  from  a  great 
many  spots,  and  from  one  place  there  is  a  constant 
blast,  over  which  it  is  not  safe  to  hold  the  hand  at  two 
yards.  This  is  a  miniature  of  a  volcano,  and  the  whole 
valley,  which  is  called  the  Solfaterra,  was  once  a  crater. 
When  Milton  was  in  Italy,  (where  he  was  known  and 
admired  by  the  great,  before  a  tardy  fame  was  accorded 
him  at  home,)  he  visited  the  Solfaterra,  and  probably 
there  acquired  his  conception  of  Satan  walking  over  the 
'  burning  marie,'  and  leaning  upon  hi^  cane  as  he  hap- 
pened to  scorch  his  foof. 

The  order  of  memory  leads  us  to  Monte-Nuovo,  or  a 
mountain  that  was  new,  a  century  and  a  half  ago,  when 
it  was  thrown  up  by  an  eruption  of  a  volcano,  in  a  place 
that  i/as  always  quiet,  as  a  placid  man  like  me  may 
once  in  his  life  work  himself  up  to  an  explosion  of  rage. 

We  went  down  into  the  old  crater,  which  is  now 
covered  with  bushes,  it  is  about  a  quarter  of  a   mile 
deep,  and  in   shape  as    regular  as  a  tea-cup.     Hav- 
18 


\  f  M 


"MP 


mmmimmmmmmmmmmm 


306 


LETTERS   FROM    A 


ing  descended  thu  hill,  we  came  to  a  secluded  valley, 
with  a  small  rccdy  lake,  having  a  temple  on  its  bank, 
and  frogs  in  its  stagnant  waters.  The  sides  of  the  val- 
ley were  barren  and  bare  of  trees,  and  on  the  north  was 
an  arch,  through  which  a  road  seemed  to  haVe  led. 
This  valley  was  Avcrnus,  which  I  was  sorry  to  have 
seen,  for  I  prefer  the  description  of  Virgil  to  my  own 
ocular  impicssions.  We  lelt  it  by  the  subterranean  pas- 
sage under  a  hill,  and  came  out  on  the  other  side,  near 
to  the  shore,  which  we  followed  to  Baia,  passing  some 
hot  baths,  in  which  we  inm)ersed  our  legs.  At  Baia, 
there  is  but  a  narrow  strip  of  level  land,  which  is  shut 
in  by  hills,  through  which  the  road  passed  to  Cuma. 
There  are  two  or  three  temples  on  the  shore,  one  to 
Diana,  whom,  at  school,  I  used  to  like  better  than  Ve- 
nus, though  she  has  a  temple  also.  The  soil  is  filled 
with  fragments  of  marble;  everywhere  we  trod  upon 
ancient  grandeur,  but  of  the  tens  of  thousands  of  polished 
and  luxurious  Romans,  who  lived  in  this  vicinity,  there 
is  not  one  stone  of  the  houses  left  upon  another — all  is 
desolation  and  decay;  neglect  and  drought  are  destroy- 
ing the  finest  portion  of  Italy. 

We  toiled  up  the  hill,  on  which  stands  the  castle,  and 
found  a  Dutcii  frigate  at  anchor  beneath  it.  Then  we 
walked  down  a  lane,  between  vines  and  trees,  to  the 
Elysian  Fields,  (for  the  classic  topogra[>hy  is  affected,) 
where  is  a  pool  or  two  of  water,  with  a  few  plover  on  the 
sand,  but  no  majestic  shades  of  heroes,  poets,  orators, 
or  those  who  had  invented  useful  arts. 

We  left  Elysium  with  little  regret,  and  returned  to 
Cuma,  where  there  are  many  indistinct  ruins.  Lake 
Fusarois  near  it,  called  by  the  '  knowing  ones,'  Acheron; 
this  lake  is  an  arm  of  the  f  :a,  and  is  a  piscary  of  the 
king,  having  good  oysters,  and  a  fish  like  smelt. 


BOSTON    MERCHANT. 


207 


I  valley, 
[s  bank, 
the  val- 
orth  was 
aVc  led. 
to  have 
my  own 
icnn  pas- 
idc,  near 
ng  some 
\.t  Baia, 
h  is  shut 
0  Cuma. 
3,  one  to 
than  Ve- 

is  filled 

rod  upon 

r  polished 

ty, there 

-all  is 

destroy- 

istlc,  and 
lien  we 

s,  to  the 
fleeted,) 

er  on  the 
orators, 

urned  to 

Lake 

Vcheron; 

y  of  the 


We  returned  to  Naples  laden  with  antiques— a  small 
head  of  Augustus,  in  has  relief,  an  old  coin,  too 
much  bruised  to  discover  the  inscription,  and  therefore 
more  valuable,  as  we  can  call  it  anything,  three  seals 
from  a  petrifying  fountain,  a  slal)  froxi  the  temple  of 
Diana,  a  cane  from  a  myrtle  at  Avernu.-;,  and  a  counter- 
feit crown,  received  in  change  from  our  honest  coach- 
man. 

It  would  be  strange,  in  writing  of  Naples,  to  say 
nothing  of  Vesuvius.  1  might  as  well,  in  describing  the 
features  of  a  man,  omit  the  nose  on  his*  face,  though  at 
Naples,  su(  i  omissions  might  sometimes  very  naturally 
happen.  V/e  took  a  calash  for  Resina,  a  suburb  of 
Portici,  distant  abotit  four  miles,  whence  we  were  to 
ascend,  after  the  manner  of  the  actors,  *  when  Roscius 
was  an  actor  at  Rome.' 

The  man  who  keeps  the  gates  of*  our  Mountain,'  is 
Salvatore  Madonna,  whose  name  is  almost  blasphemous, 
But  he  is  a  good  soul,  and  the  first  honest  man,  or  rogue 
with  honest  intervals,  that  we  found  about  Naples; 
for  we  made  no  bargain,  and  he  charged,  on  our  return, 
but  a  dollar  a-piece  for  jackasses,  (not  including  the 
guide,)  two  bottles  of  Lagrima  wine,  two  loaves,  and 
six  eggs  to  roast  in  the  embers  of  tlje  mountain. 

We  set  off  at  a  round  trot  equal  to  three  miles  an  hour, 
but  my  dapple  stumbled  over  one  piece  of  lava,  and 
threw  my  cheek  on  lll^  rough  surface  of  another.  I 
tied  him  to  a  vine,  and  made  the  rest  of  the  way  on  surer 
feet.  Some  way  above  the  village,  we  passed  the  Gen- 
eral's house,  which,  I  believe,  was  for  a  time  the  quar- 
ters of  Championnet.  Speaking  of  generals — as  we 
came  through  Portici,  we  saw  a  regiment  drawn  out  to 
receive  some  one  with  military  honors;  and  who  was  the 
visiter  but  our  old  friend  the  Russian,  who  was  dressed 
like  a  field  marshal,  and  his  ribs   were  covered  with 


pn 


208 


LETTERS   FROM   A 


crosses  and  stars.  There  is  much  in  a  good  dress;  it  is 
a  good  character,  till  a  rogue  is  known,  and  it  trans- 
formed our  Russian  from  the  mildest  and  most  humble 
cap-in-hand  man,  to  a  soldier  of  dignified  presence,  and 
noble  bearing. 

Above  the  General's  house,  and  on  the  brink  of  black 
fields  of  lava,  is  the  Hermitage,  where  a  monk  sells 
good  mountain  wine,  to  which  the  general  impiety  has 
given  the  name  of  LMchryma  Christi.  This  is  a  plea- 
sant spot  for  a  hermitage,  removed  above  even  the  hum 
of  men,  but  in  front  of  the  city,  the  bay,  and  countless 
towns  and  villages.  Of  the  hermit  I  know  nothing;  but 
he  has  a  good  stand  for  such  anchorites  as  Ambrose  de 
Lamela.  His  prospects  before  are  sufliciently  attractive, 
but  he  has  little  temptation  to  cast  his  eyes  behind.  In 
front  is  a  glittering  scene,  perhaps  unequalled  on  the 
earth,  but  in  the  rear  is  th?  blackness  of  desolation. 
There  is  no  green  thing,  ncr  anything  but  a  wide  ex- 
panse of  lava  and  cinders.  Having  crossed  this,  we 
came  to  the  ascent  of  the  crater,  which  is,  I  should 
judge,  nearly  a  mile.  It  is  in  shape,  smoke,  color,  and 
steepness,  like  one  of  our  coal  pits,  and  covered  with 
dark  ashes,  in  which  the  foot  sinks  deeply.  My  guide 
chose  the  easiest  route  to  the  lower  gap  of  the  crater, 
and  walked  before,  giving  me  a  hold  on  his  sash  to  help 
me  upwards,  to  the  summit.  Here  we  rested  awhile, 
with  smoke  around  and  fire  beneath  us;  but,  unlike  the 
Jews  in  the  wilderness,  we  had  a  view  of  the  happy 
country  before  us,  a  land  flowing  with  milk  and  honey. 
We  stood  like  conquerors,  with  glory  before  us,  and 
desolation  in  the  rear. 

The  crater  within  is  more  steep  than  on  the  outside; 
yet  it  could  be  descended  by  ropes;  but  it  has  swallowed 
one  philosopher  already,  and  why  should  I  feed  it  with 
the  body  of  another?     The  smoke  ascends  steadily,  but 


BOSTON    MERCHANT. 


209 


3ss;  It  IS 
it  trans- 
t  humble 
nee,  and 

:  of  black 
}nk  sells 
)iety  has 
s  a  plea- 
the  hum 
countless 
hing;  but 
ibrose  de 
ttractive, 
lind.    In 
d  on  the 
esolation. 
wide  ex- 
this,  we 
I  should 
olor,  and 
red  with 
Vly  guide 
le  crater, 
h  to  help 
d  awhile, 
nlike  the 
le  happy 
honey, 
us,  and 

outside; 
kvallowed 
it  with 
dily,  but 


when  your  eyes  become  accustomed  to  the  obscurity  of 
the  den,  you  can  discover  its  bottom.  It  is  apparently 
an  arch  of  hardened  lava,  fallen  in  at  places  where  there 
are  gaps  and  cracks,  for  the  passage  of  smoke  and  flame. 
The  crater  is,  I  should  conjecture,  more  than  half  a  mile 
across.  On  putting  our  ear  to  the  crevices  in  the  ascent, 
we  could  hear  the  roaring  of  flame  as  in  an  oven,  but 
could  see  nothing  but  smoke.  At  these  crevices,  the 
ashes  are  hot  enough  to  burn  a  boot  or  roast  an  egg, 
and  we  tested  both  by  actual  experiments. 

At  a  higher  point  of  the  cratur,  (I  use  the  Irish  or- 
thography,) was  a  lady  and  two  gentlemen,  who  had 
come  up  without  a  guide,  over  a  diflicult  route.  We 
scrambled  up  to  them,  and  gave  the  lady,  who  was 
French,  the  best  of  our  refreshments. 

The  air  at  this  altitude  had  somewhat  of  a  chill,  afler 
the  perspiration  of  the  ascent.  We  descended  on  a  plane 
so  much  inclined,  that  the  principle  of  gravitation  almost 
made  us  slide,  and  as  our  footing  in  the  ashes  was  secure, 
we  ventured  upon  steps  that  might  well  be  called  strides. 
If  measured,  there  would  have  been  a  result  of  five 
yards  at  a  jump.  Before  we  left  the  summit,  ws  had 
given  an  impulse  to  several  large  stones,  which  rolled 
down  the  mountain,  raising  tracks  of  dust,  and  plough- 
ing into  it  like  cannon  balls.  Now  was  the  time  when 
the  lady  shewed  her  aptitude  to  learn  a  mischievous  les- 
son, and  her  gratiJud«>  for  our  g'»od  wine,  for  she  set  two 
or  three  rocks  rolling  at  once,  and  as  they  came  in  our 
track,  it  «?eenied  to  give  her  pleasure  to  see  us  skipping 
about  to  avoid  them.  It  was  of  small  use  to  call  to  her, 
and  when  we  made  signals  of  distress,  she  pretended  to 
be  very  intent  upon  the  crater.  Having  stood  several 
discharges,  the  war  became  too  hot,  and  we  tied  a  white 
cravat  to  the  guide's  staflf,  and  begi\n  to  reascend  for  a 
parley.  The  enemy,  upon  this,  retreated  higher  up  the 
18* 


I 


I 


■DM 


310 


LETTERS   FROM   A 


mountain,  to  her  allieM,  and  by  the  soul  of  Suwarrow,  had 
she  fallen  into  my  hands,  1  would  have  omitted  none  of 
the  usages  of  war. 

Having  repelled  this  Amazonian  attack  on  the  rear 
guard,  wc  retreated  in  more  safety  than  honor.  Two 
days  afterwards,  I  met  the  same  lady  in  the  Chaija, 
when  she  began  a  grave  apology,  and  laughed  in  the 
laidst  of  it. 

The  monk  came  out  to  congratulate  us  on  our  safe 
return,  informing  us  that  '  our  mountain '  had  of  late 
shewn  evil  symptoms,  but  he  relied  for  insurance  upon 
St  January,  more  than  his  own  merits,  though  neither 
would  reduce  the  premium  with  underwriters.  We 
asked  him  to  give  us  a  sketch  of  his  life  and  opinions, 
but  he  said  his  life  was  a  blank,  and  it  was  iiis  opinion 
that  the  amount  of  piety  was  in  proportion  to  the  number 
of  pater  nosters.  We  looked  into  a  few  of  his  books  of 
sacred  literature,  consisting  of  the  lives  of  the  saints, 
and  the  deaths  of  martyrs.  He  asked  our  country, 
which  we  to!d,  when  he  requested  tha  we  would  send 
him  a  couple  of  birds  that  could  talk,  and  the  same  re- 
quest had  been  made  to  us  before. 

At  Salvatore's  house  we  had  a  cold  cut,  and  made  a 
small  collection  of  his  lavas  and  minerals.  We  told  him 
that  we  had  found  him  more  honest  than  his  countrymen, 
but  he  assured  us  he  was  no  better  than  the  rest. 

The  people  of  Naples  seem  to  be  more  cheerful  than 
those  of  Rome.  The  reason  must  be^  that  good  wine 
and  macaroni  are  cheaper  here,  that  there  is  less  restric- 
tion in  public  amusement,  and  more  of  the  dolce  far 
nienie. 

The  Neapolitans  are  a  handsome  race  of  men,  and  I 

ound  a  great  resemblance  between  the  ladies  and  those 

of  South  Wp'.es.     In  both  places  they  have  large  and 


BOSTON    MERCHANT. 


211 


'a 


row,  had 
none  of 

the  rear 
r.  Two 
I  Chaija, 
d  in  the 

our  safe 
d  of  late 
ice   upon 
1  neither 
rs.      We 
opinions, 
3  opinion 
e  nurpber 
booi(s  of 
e  saints, 
country, 
uld  send 
same  re- 
made a 
told  him 
ntrymen, 

St. 

rful  than 
)od  wine 
s  rcstric- 
dolce  far 

n,  and  I 

md  those 
irge  and 


brilHant  eyes,  a^d  an  air  of  languor  that  may  be 
instantly  succeeded  by  the  greatest  animation.  Here 
they  may  be  said  to  act  less  from  reflection  than  feeling; 
when  the  impulse  is  good,  all  is  well;  but  when  bad  — 
alas!  alas! 

Perhaps  they  do  not  prize  too  high  the  honor  of  their 
lords,  or  instill  the  lessons  of  Lucretia  into  their  chil- 
dren. But  custom  defends  a  great  many  evils,  and  it 
requires  a  mind  of  no  common  mould  to  do  right,  where 
it  is  the  universal  custom  to  do  wronjj;;  and  therefore  we 
deem  it  a  sufficient  excuse  for  the  coarseness  even  of 
Shakspearc,  to  lay  the  fault  upon  the  age  in  which  the  poet 
lived.  Whence  it  follows,  in  my  catenation  of  deduction, 
that  a  lady  who  is  sometimes  frail  in  Italy,  may  not  be  half 
so  lost  and  degraded  as  one  who  once  forgets  her  duty 
here.  Here,  though  '  all  be  lost  but  honor,'  it  may  be 
retrieved;  but  there  is  no  hope  of  amendment  in  those 
who  fall,  in  spite  of  the  barriers  tliat  our  state  of  society 
raises  for  their  support.  They  cannot  fall,  but  when 
the  mind  is  tainted  with  a  moral  leprosy,  beyond  all  hope 
cf  cure. 

The  Lazzaroni,  as  I  told  you  before,  are  a  philosophic 
race  of  vagabonds,  or  sturdy  beggars,  somewhat  like  the 
Gipseys  in  England.  Their  employment  is  begging  and 
fishing;  and  their  pleasure,  like  that  of  Diogenes,  is  to 
'  lie  in  the  sun.'  Like  the  rest  of  their  countrytren,  they 
have  no  indifferent  subject  for  conversation;  everything 
is  a  subject  for  excitement.  They  cannot  speak  in  an 
under  tone,  and  if  they  try  to  whisper,  it  is  as  an  actor 
speaks  aside  on  the  stage,  that  all  the  house  may  hear 
him.  Their  voices  on  a  high  key  are  harsh  and  disso- 
nant, but  when  they  speak  very  low,  it  is  like  the  mur- 
mur of  music.  The  shades  of  emotion  pass  over  their 
faces,  as  in  a  child.     In  our  cold  region  ot  sarcasm  and 


.a 


in 


m 


if 


'  k  ii 


1 1. 


1     ; 


wmm 


«Pip 


212 


LETTERS    FROM    A 


selfishness,  a  man  must  conceal  his  emotions  betimes; 
therefore  a  wise  one,  with  us,  assumes  some  hard  and 
uniform  expression  of  face,  to  hide  his  thoughts,  as  three 
foot  ice  conceals  the  wimples  of  the  stream. 

But  where  the  sun  burns  a  darker  crimson  in  the 
cheek,  and  sheds  tenfold  lustre  on  the  eye,  neither  eye 
nor  cheek  are  taught,  or  can  practice,  this  lesson  of  de- 
ception. The  passion  of  'he  moment  is  pictured  on  the 
face,  and  in  the  street  you  ^  ass  men  smiling,  frowning 
and  weeping,  agitated  with  oope,  fear,  hatred,  disap- 
pointment, and  revenge. 

The  men,  many  of  them,  wear  mustaches,  and  have 
rings  in  the  ears.  They  look  very  much  like  black- 
guards, and  have  a  vile  custom  of  kissing  each  other  on 
both  sides  of  the  mouth,  for  I  once  had  to  run  the 
gauntlet  between  fitleen  pair  of  mustaches. 


> 


NO.  XIV. 


Sir — The  Neapolitans  are  a  cheerful  race,  extracting 
from  a  carline  more  hilarity  than  I  could  ever  squeeze 
from  a  ducat;  for  some  fear  of  the  future,  or  experience 
of  the  past,  would  arise  to  annoy  me.  But  the  present 
only  enters  into  their  thoughts,  or  rather  feelings,  and 
under  a  sky  so  soft,  in  a  land  so  teeming  with  abun- 
dance, and  so  stamped  with  beauty,  even  the  wise  might 
place  too  much  of  their  enjoyment  on  the  present  and 
passing  day. 

But  how  shall  I  describe  the  ladies  of  Naples?  They 
are  graceful  brunettes,  with  faces  of  great  expression, 


BOSTON    MERCHANT. 


213 


iression. 


and  ^hair  long  and  dark,  like  a  tempestuous  winter 

night.'     Without  doubt,  they  are  as  exemplary  in  their 

lives  as  the  matrons  of  Rome  and  Florence,  patterns  for 

conjugal  fidelity,  aid  all  the  domestic  virtues,  though 

not  very  industrious  or  literary;  they  toil  not,  neither  do 

they  read. 

There  is  at  Naples  a  small  race  of  horses,  but  they 

are  hardy  and  strong.     The  cows  are  as  large  as  our 

oxen,  and  their  horns  are  a  yard  long.     The  milk  is  not 

sold  as  here,  front  tin  canisters  and  yellow  wagons,  for 

the  cow  is  led  round,  and  milked  before  the  purchaser, 

who  must  even  then  have  his  eyes  about  hino,  lest  he 

buy  lime  and  water. 

*  The  milk  of  the  country  is  white. 
But  the  milk  of  the  city  is  blue.' 

The  butter  is  not  good;  it  is  sold  in  little  rolls,  wrapped 
in  green  leaves.  Bread  is  excellent  and  cheap;  a  loaf 
large  enough  for  breakfast  may  be  had  for  a  cent,  and 
the  whole  meal  may  be  completed  for  three  cents  more. 
The  coffee  houses  are  many,  but  you  may  v/alk  far  with- 
out seeing  a  dram  shop;  I  saw  not  one.  It  was  my 
custom  to  dine  at  a  cook-shop,  where  a  bill  of  fare,  with 
prices,  is  given,  and  one  may  dine  for  a  dime  or  a  dol- 
lar; but  I  got  ten  dinners  out  of  a  dollar.  At  the  iral- 
toria,  a  monk  sought  my  acquaintance,  asking  my  name, 
and  saying  that  his  own  was  Father  Felippo.  He  was 
a  barefooted  friar,  of  such  bulk  as  is  seldom  acquired  by 
abstmence;  and  it  was  a  cheap  pleasure  for  me  to  feast 
him  upon  parmesan  and  macaroni.  He  ate  it  afler  the 
manner  of  all  true  Neapolitans,  and  of  the  king  himself 
He  threw  back  his  head,  as  if  to  examine  a  fresco  over 
it,  and  holding  the  long  vermiform  strings  of  his  favor- 
ite ((>od  above  his  open  mouth,  would  gain  much  in  time 
and  quantity  over  him  who  fed  with  a  spoon.     I  never 


Irl 


>  -^~*..)m^.\f 


214 


LETTERS    FROM    A 


saw,  in  human  face,  more  satisfaction  than  illuminated 
the  monk's  broad  features,  at  the  sight  of  macaroni. 

The  mountain  of  fat  piled  upon  Father  Felippo's  ribs, 
could  not  suppress  the  liberal  curiosity  of  an  inquisitive 
mind.  He  asked  me,  concerning  America,  a  great 
many  judicious  questions — if  it  were  an  island,  if  all  our 
birds  could  talk,  if  we  had  a  large  fish  that  gave  us  oil, 
and  if  there  were  among  us  any  Christians,  monks,  or 
nuns.  I  answered  for  the  credit  of  the  country  as  well 
as  I  could;  but  I  fear  that  the  Republic  suffered  in  the 
estimation  of  the  Church,  for  I  could  but  say  that  we  had 
the  fish  and  the  birds,  though  we  were  too  little  enlighten- 
ed to  have  monks  or  nuns.  I  expressed  a  belief  that  we 
had  many  vestals,  at  which  he  displayed  a  row  of  ivory  fit 
for  Othello,  and  said,  *  that 's  quite  a  diflerent  affair.' 

I  visited  the  monk  at  his  quarters,  on  a  hill;  I  have 
seen  many  convents,  and  not  one  that  was  not  in  a  well 
chosen  place.  The  monks  have  equal  judgment  in  the 
interior  of  their  hives,  and  make  (as  has  been  said)  a 
straight  passage  from  (he  refectory  to  the  kitchen,  while 
the  route  to  the  chapel  is  often  circuitous.  From  Fe- 
lippo's nest  I  saw  the  whole  campagna  felice,  its  vines, 
and  its  gardens,  enclosed  by  the  Appenines.  The  coun- 
try is  an  Eden;  but  it  is  a  paradise  of  felons.  It  is 
Lord  Say's  Kent,  bona  terra  mala  gens. 

I  went  to  hear  a  preacher,  who  was,  I  believe,  a  Fran- 
ciscan, for  he  had  a  rope  as  a  girdle,  that  would  have 
made  a  better  collar.  He  was  much  followed.  His 
harangues  that  I  heard  were  upon  the  sufferings  of  the 
martyrs.  He  described,  and  not  without  force,  the  suf- 
ferings that  so  many  painters  were  well  pleased  to  repre- 
sent— torture  for  the  sake  of  faith;  and  he  hoped,  he 
said,  to  live  to  see  his  hearers  suffer  with  constancy.  I 
seemed  to  have  gotten  into  a  Melhodist  conventicle,  for 
the  people  would  groan  at  a  solemn  denunciation,  and 


mtf^^mmi  mii  »»ii  |i 


SSSSShw 


iminated 
roni. 
po's  ribs, 
quisitive 
a  great 
if  all  our 
i^e  us  oil, 
lonks,  or 
Y  as  well 
ed  in  the 
it  we  had 
nlighten- 
f  that  we 
r  ivory  fit 
affair.' 
;  I  have 
in  a  well 
nt  in  the 
said)  a 
en,  while 
rom  Fc- 
ts  vines, 
he  coun- 
It  is 


id 


a  Fran- 
ild  have 
His 
}  of  the 
the  suf- 
to  repre- 
)ped,  he 
ancy.  I 
ticle,  for 
ion,  and 


BOSTON    MERCHANT. 


215 


applaud  the  encouragement  and  promises.  His  action 
was  too  violent  for  our  stage,  but  gentle  enough  for  a 
mountebank.  He  praised  also  the  sanctity  of  hermits, 
and  referred  to  Ambrose  de  Lamela,  upon  the  mountain, 
living  like  a  saint,  in  a  black  and  desolate  waste,  without 
animal  or  vegetable  life,  where  the  sun  illuminates  the 
broken  points  of  lava,  only  to  throw  the  cavities  into  a 
deeper  and  more  awful  shade;  as  a  good  impulse  some- 
times falls  upon  the  heart  of  a  bad  man,  that  he  may  dis- 
cover, from  the  contrast,  his  own  dark  depravity. 

There  is  a  vast  palace  of  red  stone,  called  the  Bour- 
bon Museum,  very  rich  in  sculptures  and  other  antiqui- 
ties. On  entering  one  of  the  halls  of  statues,  you  find 
yourself  among  objects  like  the  inhabitants  of  the  eastern 
tale,  who  were  turhed,  by  enchantment,  into  stone,  in 
the  midst  of  their  employments — dancing,  wrestling, 
fighting,  or  declaiming.  '  Is  it  petrified  nature,  or  ani- 
mate marble!' 

Before  I  saw  busts  and  statues,  I  knew  not  how  ne- 
cessary they  were  to  the  study  of  history;  but  when  I 
now  read  of  a  very  good  or  a  very  bad  man  of  antiquity, 
my  imagination  has  his  very  features  to  fix  upon. 

In  this  Museum  is,  what  is  rare,  a  statue  of  Caligula. 
There  were  many  statues  of  him  while  he  lived,  but  at 
his  lamented  death,  almost  all  were  destroyed.  The 
Roman  people  held  him  in  such  singular  reverence,  that 
it  renewed  their  grief  for  his  loss,  to  see  so  many  of  his 
images  in  marble;  and  therefore  a  swift  destruction  over- 
took them  all. 

Caracalla,  too,  was  so  vain  of  his  own  soft  features,  that 
he  caused  so  many  busts  to  be  made,  that  many  remain 
for  the  reverence  of  posterity.  The  expression  in  all  is 
lowering  and  sulky,  for  the  sculptors  flattered  him  as 
little  as  the  historians;  but,  like  Napoleon,  I  do  not  be- 
lieve that  these  Roman  Emperors  were  half  so  bad  as 


If 


'    * 


I 


f  f 


.v'i^ '  iJtiu^j^^a^SiAik 


216 


LETTERS    FROM    ▲ 


represented.  What  is  the  evidence  of  history,  and  how 
remote  is  the  chance  of  coming  at  the  truth  (even  in  our 
own  times)  of  what  we  do  not  sec,  and  if  seen,  of  warp- 
ins  the  evidence  of  our  senses  to  the  dictate  of  our  wills. 
Yet  to  judge  of  Caracalla  from  the  features  he  has  left  in 
marble,  would  not  hr  to  esteem  him  a  very  placatHe 
prince.  In  fact,  if  I  should  see  a. man  so  scowl  at  me 
from  behind  a  rock  in  the  Pyrenees,  I  should  have  little 
hope  of  safety  in  appealing  to  his  mercy. 

'  There  was  a  laughing  Devil  in  his  sneer. 
That  rniscd  emotions  both  of  rage  and  fear. 
And  where  his  frown  of  hatred  darkly  fell, 
Hope,  withering  fled,  and  mercy  bid  farewell.' 

Perhaps  you  can  fancy  the  high  relish  with  which  the 
populace  smashed  such  busts  upon  the  pavements. 

There  is  a  bust  or  two,  and  a  statue,  of  Julius  Ceesar, 
who  left  the  empire  to  so  many  amiable  princes  of  his  lino. 
Augustus  was  the  first,  and  he  had  a  heart  of  adamant. 
He  was  the  very  man  to  consolidate  the  despotism,  and 
to  cover  his  power  under  names  of  liberty,  leaving  little 
for  his  successors  to  do,  but  to  administer  the  supremo 
power,  which  Tiberius  did  so  well. 

Tiberius,  when  age  had  softened  a  few  asperities  in  a 
temper  not  naturally  rough,  issued  those  just  and  equi- 
table decrees,  that  have  given  him  so  distinguished  a 
place  in  history,  and  so  flattering  a  picture  for  the  pen- 
cil of  Tacitus.  But  he  was  a  better  man  than  his  adop- 
tive father,  and  had  in  his  proscriptions  and  murders,  at 
least  the  wolf-like  and  man-like  motive  of  revenge;  while 
Augustus  was  a  cool,  calculating  wretch,  doing  nothing 
from  passion,  but  all  from  policy.  Having,  like  Jaffier, 
*  deceived  the  senate,'  he  probably  deluded  himself,  and 
died  in  the  belief  that  he  was  no  worse  than  other  men, 
but  even  a  prince  distinguished  for  rnercy  and  clemency. 
But  I  would  rather  have  the  heart  of  Nero,  and  act  from 
his  wild,  mad  impulses,  than  from  the  crafl  of  Augustus. 


BOSTON    MERCHANT. 


217 


and  how 
en  in  our 
of  warp- 
tur  wills, 
as  left  in 
placable 
f\  at  me 
ave  little 


trhich  the 
nts. 

s  Caesar, 
f  his  lino, 
idamant. 
ism,  and 
ing  little 
supremo 


ities  m  a 

ind  equi- 

uished  a 

the  pen- 

lis  adop- 

rders,  at 

s;  while 

nothing 

Jaffier, 

self,  and 

ler  men, 

emency. 

act  from 

ugustus. 


Nero  has  claims  upon  our  rcmeri.'.)rance.  His  face 
was  round,  and  expressed  imbecility  rather  than  violent 
passion.  He  had  the  same  kind  of  (ace  that  you  will 
often  see  enlivened  by  a  small,  leaden^  P'g's  eye. 

But  do  you  think  that  the  old  Romans  really  had  those 
enormous  hooked  noses?  I  thought  so  too;  for  I  read 
Virgil,  in  a  Dutcii  edition,  with  plates,  in  which  ^neas 
was  represented  in  the  likeness  of  the  King  William, 
whose  nose  was  anything  but  a  pug. 

Cicero,  indeed,  had  a  magnificent  aquiline,  Julius 
Caesar  was  a  little  hooked  in  the  beak,  and  Augustus 
and  Titus  had  something  large  in  the  way  of  nose,  but 
in  general,  the  busts  have  as  great  a  variety  as  you 
would  find  in  the  same  number  of  faces  in  any  other 
country. 

I  could  go  on,  sir,  in  this  desultory  manner,  stringing 
together  my  recollections  like  artificial  pearls,  till 
the  winter  session  comes  to  editorial  relief  But  if  a 
merciful  man  should  be  kind  to  his  beast,  he  cannot 
surely  be  hard  with  his  friend.  When  you  reflect  that  this 
is  my  second  crop  of  reminiscences  of  Italy,  and  that  I 
knew  not  in  one  week  what  I  was  to  write  the  next,  it 
will  not  much  stretch  your  charity  to  overlook  a  thou- 
sand faults.  In  the  letters  from  the  Alps,  I  claim  a 
greater  immunity;  for  I  was  never  there,  and  had  no 
leisure  to  examine  books  and  correct  the  careless  journal 
of  a  friend.  But  '  forever  and  forever  farewell,'  Italy, 
garden  of  the  world,  land  of  song,  of  solemn  temples, 
crumbling  arches,  glorious  recollections,  beauty  and 
banditti,  masses  and  macaroni. 

From  Naples  I  went  to  Sardinia,  where  I  passed  a 
week,  with  little  pleaoure.  It  was  in  a  brig  from  Palermo, 
that  we  anchored  in  a  little  harbor  oft*  the  Straits  of 
Bonifacio.  The  crew  v/ent  ashore  and  raised  supplies 
of  mutton,  'after  the  manner  of  the  tribe  of  Benjamin.' 

19 


/ 


'I 


r 


318 


LETTERS    FROM    ▲ 


Near  Corsica  wo  passed,  at  some  distance,  an  Eng- 
lish bark,  and  happening  to  have  an  American  flag, 
we  ran  it  up,  but  without  return  of  civility.  Perhaps 
the  Sicilian  flag  would  have  attracted  more  favor,  for 
an  Englishman  is  not  over  much  delighted  to  meet  a 
republican  navy  in  these  seas. 

'  Gen8  iniratca  mihi  Tyrlicnnum  nivigat  apquor.' 
I  met  in  Italy  a  great  many  Englishmen — but  what  do 
you  know  of  Mr  Bull.  It  is  an  impostor  that  goes  by 
that  name  in  America,  a  runaway  servant,  wearing  his 
master's  dress,  and  trying  to  ape  his  manner.  But  in 
Italy  there  are  no  trading  cocknies,  and  the  English 
there  are  the  rich,  the  titled,  and  the  learned.  But  they 
were  seemingly  so  unsocial  and  cold,  that  they  remind- 
ed me  of  a  good  chestnut  in  the  burr,  for  they  proved, 
upon  acquaintance,  better  than  they  seemed.  In  seve- 
ral solitary  walks,  I  met  a  Briton;  we  passed,  but  not 
like  dogs,  for  they  will  look  at  each  other;  yet  we  were 
among  broken  columns,  that  had  for  centuries  declared 
the  folly  of  human  pride.  Again  we  met  at  Miseno, '  by 
the  upbraiding  shore,'  but  the  ocean  upbraided  in  vain. 
Our  next  meeting  was  at  the  rooms  of  a  friend,  who 
brought  the  two  extremes  together. 

On  the  voyage  to  Gibraltar  we  had  a  gale,  and  it  gave 
us  no  pleasure,  while  it  lasted,  to  see  the  sea  fowl  forsak- 
ing their  element,  and  making  for  the  shore.  I  had  little 
confidence  in  the  sailors,  and  they  had  none  in  them- 
selves. Capt.  Grammatico  wrung  his  hands,  and  cursed 
himself  for  a  fool,  that  he  did  not  enter  Carthagena,  and 
I  agreed  with  him  in  sentiment.  But  w^  had  now  no- 
thing to  do  but  to  scud  along  the  shore.  The  coast  of 
Spain  seemed  to  us  beautiful  beyond  comparison;  the 
hills  were  green,  in  the  valleys  were  towns,  and  on  the 
hills  castles  and  monasteries.     We  were  driving  rapidly 


mmmmmm 


RECOLLECTIONS   OF  JAPAN. 


tl» 


into  a  part  between  Barbary  and  Spain,  where  the  sea 
was  narrow,  and  our  ill  managed  vessel  was  already 
shattered.  My  furebodings  were  dismal,  and  I  defy  you 
to  feel  less  at  case  than  I  felt,  till  the  sccono  morning, 
when  the  wiad  abated.  While  it  raged,  the  master  did 
little  but  cross  himself  and  the  coming  waves.  I  kept 
myself  as  cool  as  was  convenient,  but  none  of  us  felt  at 
ease,  till  wc  doubled  the  point  of  Europa. 

Now,  sir,  like  great  men  in  politics,  I  quit  the  ground 
whereon  I  have  stood  so  long,  and  request  your  favor 
to  my  Recollections  of  Japan;  for  twentysevon  misspent 
jsars  ago  I  was  at  Nangasaki.  I  might  indeed  change 
my  signature,  and  cheat  the  public,  but  I  could  not  de- 
ceive you,  who  would  at  once  know  the  old  dog,  though 
in  a  new  doublet. 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  JAPAN. 


NO.  I. 


Siii — Early  in  iho  present  century,  I  sailed  from  Ba- 
tavia  for  Nangasala,  in  Japan;  I  have  a  f(!w  loose  mem- 
oranda, like  the  Sybil's  responses,  on  separate  leaves, 
and  from  these  Instate  that  in  July  we  arrived  at  our 
port.  On  passing  the  South  Cavallos,  an  island  at  the 
mouth  of  the  harbor,  we  saluted  with  nine  guns;  then 


.•^'.•..^i*--*'-.'!**^'.-*""   •  - 


•':.l^iKlt-U,■■■'^Ji!'^JP-ff. 


no 


TECOLLECTIONS    OF   JAPATf. 


at  Pnpcnborjr,  which  made  the  larboard  point  of  the 
bay,  we  gave  the  Japanese  nine  more,  when  we  wero 
boarded  by  the  ujipcr  Banjo.  We  were  surrounded 
by  an  incredible  number  ol'  boats,  that  came  to  tow 
us  up  should  there  happen  to  be  a  cahn,  but  wo 
had  breeze  enough.  Two  miles  higher,  we  passed  tho 
Emperor's  watch,  two  small  forts  on  each  side  of  tho 
bay,  and  there  we  burnt  powder  for  eighteen  guns,  nine 
from  each  quarter.  Two  miles  farther  is  the  place  of 
anchorage,  where  we  let  go  anchor,  and  having  roared 
with  our  mortar  thirteen  times  more,  the  stately  cere- 
monial was  over. 

The  ship  was  dressed  according  to  the  custom  here, 
in  all  the  ensigns  she  could  muster.  The  powder  was 
then  taken  from  us  to  be  carried  on  shore,  and  wo  wero 
deprived  also  of  our  boats;  the  roll  was  called,  and  an 
account  taken  of  us  all:  when,  having  undergone  tho 
strictest  search,  I  was  permitted  to  go  on  shore,  where 
I  v/as  searched  again,  and  a  third  time  at  the  entrance 
of  the  VVaterport,  on  the  island  Dccima,  where  I  was 
led  to  the  Dutch  governor^  who  gave  me  his  welcome 
and  the  port  regulations  in  Dutch. 

A  large  corps  of  Tallars  came  also  to  the  governor  to 
ask  the  news  <>f  Euro|)e;  the  questions  were  asked  with 
shrewdness  and  the  answers  written  down  for  the  Em 
peror  at  Jeddo.  The  city  is  (iistant  fourteen  days'  travel, 
at  the  rate  of  the  mail,  which  goes  fast.  When  the 
strange  looking  interpreters  iiad  gone,  I  walked  round 
the  island,  which  is  but  small;  it  is  artificially  raised 
upon  the  flats  that  surround  Nangasuki,  and  in  ordinary 
tides  it  is  but  ten  feet  above  water.  The  island  is  sur- 
rounded with  a  wall  ten  lect  high,  with  spikes  on  the 
top;  through  the  wall  are  two  gates-^the  water  port  and 
the  gate  that  leads  to  the  city.  The  island  is  joined  to 
the  city  by  a  bridge  about  forty  rods  in  length,  and  over 


RECOLLECTIONS   OP   JAPAFT. 


221 


this  space  tho  water  is  convoytMl  in  l)nml)oos  to  the  isl- 
and. After  rains  it  is  troubled,  but,  having  settled,  it 
is  good  water. 

Decirna  was  built  by  tlic  Portuguese,  and  when  they 
were  ordered,  iu  consequence  of  their  christian  zeal,  to 
retire  from  Japan,  the  Duteh  were  removed  from  Ve- 
randa here;  and  they  do  not  seem  to  have  enough  of 
that  kind  of  zeal  to  lead  them  into  peril  oC  banishment. 

Tho  fire  once  swept  the  whole  island,  though  it  is 
now  built  over,  and  has  several  large  and  commodious 
stores.  The  Dutch  factory  has  a  garden,  with  vegeta- 
bles, good  peaches,  and  sour  grapes.  Tht^re  is  an  up- 
perhoft,  or  director,  who  has  a  private  secretary — a 
pack-house  master  and  three  writ(!rs — a  doctor,  a  car- 
penter, and  a  steward,  which  make  in  all  nine  v.'hites, 
but  they  have  a  great  many  Japanese  servants,  soir.^  of 
whom  speak  and  write  Dutch  witli  precision.  The  pay 
of  the  Company's  ofhcers  is  not  so  greut  that  the  cfficea 
are  much  sought;  the  governor  himself  longed  to 
return  to  Batavia,  (hough  he  had  been  here  but  a  year. 

They  have  but  five  per  cent,  on  sales  in  Japan,  and 
as  much  on  the  return  cargo;  of  this  the  director  takes 
sixty  per  cent.,tbe  pack-house  master  twenty,  the  secre- 
tary ten,  and  tbe  three  writers  and  the  doctor,  divide 
the  other  ten;  the  steward  and  carpenter  have  low  wages 
and  nothing  more.  -        ■ 

A  few  years  before  we  came,  when  three  or  four 
large  ships  arrived,  the  commissii+ii  was  respectable, 
and  the  director  had  little  desire  to  go  to  Batavia; 
though  like  all  ambitious  [leoplc,  he  looked  for  better 
times. 

However,  a  good  table  and  low  monthly  wages  are 

furnished  at  the  expense  of  tho  Company.     The  rent 

paid  to  the  Japanese  government  yearly  for  the  island, 

is  ten  thousand  rix  dollars.     The  houses  are  built  low 

19* 


;  't^n''^-  -j^^ftkiv 


'] 


223 


RECOLLECTIONS   OF  JAPAN. 


and  strong  from  fear  of  earthquakes;  the  doctor  told  us 
that  in  1799,  there  were  thirty  shocks  in  one  day,  and 
that  a  large  town  on  a  mountain  ten  miles  off,  was  swal- 
lowed with  about  three  thousand  people.  But  what  is 
that  in  such  an  ant-hill  as  Japan  ? 

The  first  officer  of  the  customs  is  called  the  upper 
Banjo,  and  no  store  can  be  opened  or  business  transact' 
ed  without  him.  The  ship  is  guarded  night  and  day  by 
two  armed  boats,  and  nothing  is  landed  noi  is  any  one  al- 
lowed to  go  on  shore,  but  on  the  strictest  examination. 
When  the  cargo  is  discharged,  it  is  an  important  day 
for  the  customnouse  officers;  the  first  secretary  of  the 
Japanese  governor  comes  on  board  in  pomp  and  parade 
with  many  attendants,  while  the  ship  is  decked  in  all 
her  flags  to  honor  the  representative. 

The  Japanese  are  a  very  polite  people,  and  they 
have  polished  the  Dutchmen,  who  salute  the  Banjos 
according  to  the  forms  in  the  code  of  propriety.  The 
first  manoeuvre  is  to  place  the  hands  upon  the  kneos,  to 
bow  the  head  almost  to  the  ground,  and  lift  it  only  when 
directed,  though  an  interval  of  ten  minutes  precedes 
the  direction.  I  have  seen  two  reporters  thus  crouched 
for  an  hour  and  a  half,  till  the  upper  Banjo  told  them  to 
rise,  and  they  dared  not  till  then  raise  even  their  eyes. 
When  the  representative  of  the  governor  comes  on 
board,  the  rules  of  civility  (which  are  more  strictly  en- 
forced than  in  our  own  country)  require  that  the  Dutch- 
men, governor  and  all,  lie  upon  the  deck;  but  the  Dutch 
are  an  accommodating  people,  and  would  -arry  their 
complaisance  as  far  as  Japanese  punctilio  could  possibly 
require. 

Once  in  four  years,  the  governor,  secretary,  and  doc- 
tor, make  a  visit  to  Jcddo,  to  carry  the  Comp'^ny's  pre- 
sents to  the  Emperor.  The  journey  is  completed  in 
about  four  months,  and  the  presents  go  in  a  cavalcade. 


SEC0LLCCTI0N9   OF  JAFAN. 


S2S 


which  ia  closed  by  an  army  of  tallars;  in  the  interme- 
diate years,  four  tailars  are  sent  with  a  few  presents  to 
report  affairs  to  the  Emperor. 

The  last  governor  died  in  his  pilgrimage,  and  is  buri- 
ed near  Meaco;  permission  was  not  readily  granted 
for  his  interment,  and  the  condition  on  which  he  was 
buried  was  to  shave  his  head  and  receive  a  Japanese 
name.  The  doctor  who  accompanied  this  governor,  Ava» 
at  Nangasaki,  where  he  lived  eight  years,  and  must 
have  seen  much  of  the  customs  of  the  country,  though 
he  was  rather  shy  in  his  communications;  I  was  suffi- 
ciently inquisitive,  but  all  the  company's  servants  seem- 
ed jealous  of  us,  and  were  unwilling  to  speak  of  Japan, 
or  else  had  nothing  to  say. 

In  this  journey  to  Jeddo,  the  mode  of  travelling  is  in 
palankeens,  till  the  company  comes  to  a  place  where  it 
takes  boats  to  thread  among  the  countless  islands  around 
Niphon;  and  the  voyage  in  the  barks  is  of  about  four- 
teen days. 

The  Emperor  lives  at  Jeddo,  and  the  Diari,  a  sort  of 
Pontifex  Maximus,  at  IVIeaco;  he  is  an  object  of  the 
most  profound  veneration,  and  is  held  to  be  a  type  of 
the  Divinity. 

Charlevoix  calls  the  Japanese  the  English  of  Asiaj 
but  which  Islanders  did  he  wish  to  compliment?  At 
first,  I  thought  these  people  a  sort  of  Dog-Chinese;  but 
more  known,  I  rated  them  h.gher;  they  are  more  affa- 
ble, polite,  brave,  and  kind,  than  the  Chinese,  though 
it  is  hard  to  settle  their  relative  honesty. 

There  is  among  the  islanders  a  feeling  that  leads  them 
to  act  to  the  extent  of  their  wild  code  of  honcr:  of 
course,  duelling  is  alVequcnt  practice,  especially  among 
the  military,  and  those  in  hi^h  employments  at  court. 
Their  manner  of  fighting  is  what  ours  sometimes  is  not, 
a  test  of  the  courage  and  fortitude  of  the  parties;;  in 


234 


RECOLLECTIONS    OF   JAPAN. 


i^ 


m 

Hi 

■If 

m 

{ 

N 

our  rencontres,  both  parties  often  escape  a  wound,  but 
in  Japan  a  gash  is  the  very  preliminary  of  the  combat, 
for  the  partv  who  desires  satisfaction  or  revenge,  meets 
his  enemy,  whisks  out  his  hanger,  rips  up  his  own  belly, 
and  infamy  is  the  portion  of  the  other,  if  he  fail  to  do 
the  same.  Generally,  they  fear  death  as  little  as  you 
fear  eating  an  egg  when  it  is  good.  It  is  a  lesson  in- 
stilled into  youth  (as  it  was  tried  to  get  Latin  into  me) 
that  death  is  a  lighter  evil  than  dishonor,  and  their  after 
life  has  opportunities  enough  to  practice  on  these  early 
principles. 

To  offend  the  Emperor  is,  of  course,  to  deserve  death, 
and  to  die;  commonly,  the  culprit  executes  himself,  for 
by  this  anticipation,  no  dishonor  falls  upon  his  lineage, 
nor  is  there  a  confiscation  of  estate;  but  his  children 
inherit  with  his  good  name,  their  father's  wealth.  Some- 
times, however,  the  man  with  many  titles  conceives  oi- 
fencc,  like  Tiberius,  in  the  secret  recesses  of  his  own 
inscrutable  heart,  and  the  offender,  with  regard  to  this 
life,  is  like  a  tenant  at  sufferance,  who  has  little  notice 
to  quit.  At  other  times,  the  man  with  the  diadem  sends 
forth  the  mandate  that  the  venerated  Roman  sent  to 
Seneca — to  die,  and  the  message  is  as  cooly  received, 
and  executed.  When  the  Emperor  would  center  honor, 
he  sends  also  a  sword,  wherewith  to  do  the  business 
with  despatch,  though  you  hate  a  pun;  the  person  thus 
honored  with  the  imperial  orders,  invites  his  friends 
to  1  last  banquet,  talks  of  the  immortality  of  the  yuul, 
and  liberates  his  own,  by  a  sudden  jerk,  from  its  mortal 
incumbrances.  When  we  shall  have  an  Emperor  in 
North  America,  I  hope  to  sec  the  same  custom  among 
the  people,  and  I  should  like  even  now  to  see  Japanese 
duelling  substituted  for  ours,  inasmuch  as  it  is  more  ra- 
tional, and  has  greater  certainty  of  satisfaction.  Some- 
times, (o  be  a  good  shot,  argues  a  consciousness  of 


it 


'■».i»l» 


RECOLLECTIONS    OF   JAPAN. 


225 


timidity,  and  were  all  our  duellists  compelled  to  hit 
therriselves  in  the  s;  ot  where  they  wish  to  strike  their 
enemy,  there  would  be  less  praCice  in  small  gunnery. 
But  after  all  that  has  been  said  and  preached,  is  it  worse 
to  hew  the  limbs  in  combat  than  to  hack  the  character 
in  calumny?  Is  open  hostility  though  violent,  as  de- 
moralizing as  secret  enmity,  covered  with  hypocrisy  as 
a  leprosy,  and  plotting  vengeance  while  it  seems  to  ofTer 
peace?  I  am  a  peaceful  citizen,  witliout  talent  or  taste 
for  war,  but  my  system  shall  be  storm  and  sally,  not 
mine  and  countermine. 

We  deceive  others,  but  first  wc  delude  ourselves;  we 
think  that  we  are  just,  and  we  are  praised  for  justice, 
when  wo  pay  for  what  wo  buy:  we  should  censure  our- 
selves a  little,  and  others  more,  to  refuse,  when  able  to 
pay  our  debts.  What  are  our  debts?  do  we  owe  noth- 
ing to  men  more  valuable  than  gold  ?  Would  any  man 
part  with  his  good  name  for  money,  and  do  we  not  refuse 
to  render  justice  where  it  is  fairly  due,  by  speaking  well 
of  those  we  honor  and  dislike? 

There  arc  in  Japan  a  counties?}  number  of  priests, 
devotees  and  pilgrims;  the  religion  is  in  some  points  like 
the  Roman  Catholic,  Tor  the  temple?  abound  with  ima- 
g 's  that  may  be  called  idols.  One  temple  at  xtleaco  has 
.  3^'^.'ji.3,  and  it  is  called  from  that  number — Sanmcn-San- 
';■},  yidnbiak-Sansieu-Sanfai. 

A,,  die  Japanese  know  nothing  of  the  spirit  of  Chris- 
tianity, but  misjudge  it,  from  the  mtholic  zeal  of  the 
Portugii'  <^n,  who  tried  to  extend  their  faith  with  little 
choice  of  means;  it  is  hardly  strange  that  the  cross 
should  not  be  held  in  reverent':,.  '1  herefore  one  day  is 
set  apart  in  the  calendar,  when  they  offer  indignity  to 
that  sign  of  our  salvation,  and  even  small  children  are 
I'^d  v<p  that  they  may  'ramplo  upon  it.  The  calendar 
has  besides  this,  a  reasonable  allowance  of  festivals} 


I 


V 


lii 


w 

•**•*»  V 


,/ 


226 


RECOLLECTIONS   OF   JAPAN. 


' 


some  at  the  full,  and  others  at  the  change  of  the  mooti: 
and  there  was  a  star-feast  celebrated  once  while  I  was  at 
Japan,  which  was  honored  by  a  profusion  of  lamps  hung 
on  the  outside  of  the  houses. 

But  the  most  poetical,  and  the  most  popular  is  the 
feast  of  souls,  held  in  memory  of  friends  who  are  dead. 
It  continues  four  days,  and  is  worthy  the  imitation  of  a 
more  refined  people.  On  the  first  duy  of  the  feast  there 
is  prepared  in  each  family  a  profusion  of  viands,  that 
would  n  *  disgrace  our  own  feast  of  thanks:  the  feast  how- 
ever is  oi.  f  jcceeding  night,  and  like  Hamlet's  wed- 
ding banque^ .  is  cold.  At  this  all  the  friends  of  the  fam- 
ily are  invited  and  a  place  and  plate  assigned  to  the  de- 
ceased; whether  they  actually  rise  and  occupy  it,  like 
Banquo,  I  know  not,  but  the  dead  are  welcomed  with 
grave  ceremonial;  for  questions  are  put  to  them,  which 
are  peimitted  to  be  answered  by  deputy,  and  some  one  of 
the  living  replies  to  what  is  said  in  behalf  of  his  constit- 
uents, the  dead.  The  next  day  (like  our  days  succeed- 
ing midnight  feasts)  is  devoted  to  sleep,  and  at  night  the 
numberless  thousands  of  the  city  and  surrounding  coun- 
try pour  out  to  the  semi-circle  of  hills,  which  is  the 
place  of  the  tombs  As  the  tombs  are  on  the  sides  of 
the  mountains,  and  as  there  are  probably  a  hundred 
lamps  to  one  person,  the  sight  is  a  brilliant  one,  as  the 
lights  seem  to  be  dancing  about  in  a  maze  of  splendor 
as  you  will  see  in  June,  on  the  meadows,  at  our  festival  of 
the  lightning-bugs.  On  the  next  day  comes  a  long  siesta, 
and  on  the  evening  of  this  day  the  lights  are  seen  advanc- 
ing from  the  mountains,  and  converging  to  the  water  side 
in  front  of  the  city.  At  the  same  time  there  is  a  numer- 
ous fleet  direct  from  Lilliput,  made  of  straw  and  fur- 
nished with  paper  sails;  the  lamps  are  put  on  board  and 
the  ships,  three  feet  long,  are  set  adrift,  amid  the  shoutf 
of  some  hundred  thousand  people. 


RECOLLECTIONS   OF   JAPAN. 


237 


e  moou: 
I  was  at 
ips  hung 

ar  is  the 
re  dead, 
lion  of  a 
ist  there 
ids,  that 
sast  how- 
jt's  wed- 
the  fam- 
»  the  de- 
'  it,  like 
ned  with 
n,  which 
le  one  of 
p  constit- 
succeed- 
light  the 
»  coun- 
is  the 
sides  of 
lundred 
e,  as  the 
splendor 
stival  of 
V  siesta, 
advanc- 
ater  side 
numer- 
and  fur- 
vard  and 
e  shouti 


I  think  there  may  have  been  five  thousand  barks  thus 
fitted  with  lights,  and  as  the  wind  drove  them  out  in 
various  directions,  and  the  flames  communicated  to  the 
straw,  paper,  and  oil,  it  was  a  glorious  sight  to  see,  bet- 
ter in  my  estimation  than  the  battle  of  the  Nile. 

The  Japanese  funerals  are  only  by  night,  and  the 
body  is  buried  in  a  kneeling  posture  in  a  tub;  at  the 
grave  the  hair  of  the  deceased  which  has  been  previ- 
ously cut,  is  burnt,  together  with  a  great  many  paper 
lamps.  The  priest  then  stamps  the  character  of  the 
deceased  upon  the  forehead,  arad  the  clerical  estimate  of 
merit  is  dependant  on  the  price  given  for  a  certificate ; 
however,  a  little  money  will  buy  a  good  name,  and  the 
priest,  like  our  epitaphs,  is  seldom  known  to  speak  ill  of 
the  dead — a  forbearance  that  I  recommend  to  you  and 
others  concerning  the  living. 


NO.  II. 

Sir, — A  Japanese  claims  a  higher  origin  than  a  Vir- 
ginian, or  even  a  New  England  man;  it  is  recorded  as 
the  commencement  of  the  annals  that  a  few  hundred 
centuries  ago  an  Emperor  of  China,  who,  like  some  other 
great  men,  had  lived  so  ill  that  he  felt  a  reluctance  to 
die,  asked  his  physician  for  medicines  that  would  ena- 
ble him  to  live  forever. 

The  doctor  looked  grave,  said  the  request  was  rea- 
sonable, and  might  be  obtained;  there  is,  said  he,  an 
island  far  to  the  east,  covered  with  flowers  and  odorif- 
erous trees,  where  I  must  gather  the  simples  that  are 
to  make  your  majesty  live  as  long  as  the  latest  of  your 
posterity.     But  they  must  be  plucked  under  the  plane- 


■•?  s^ 


} 

i 


.\    •;, 


..    L,.::.^.!^-)ki,Sf±^ 


MP 


228 


RECOLLECTIONS    OF   JAPAN. 


tary  influences,  and  to  propitiate  the  skies,  there  must 
bo  a  company  of  three  hundred  youths  and  virgins, 
which  I  would  select  froni  the  best  of  the  celestial  em- 
pire. This  wise  prince  sent  his  physician  at  the  head 
of  the  train,  with  wliich  it  was  the  doctor's  secret  policy 
to  found  a  colony  in  Japan,  and  from  this  spotless  stock 
<'  jscended  the  present  people  of  the  islands. 

The  priests  seem  to  borrow  some  profitable  maxims 
from  the  Catholics,  and  a  gainful  trade  is  carried  on  in 
the  sale  of  indulgencics;  an  indulgenc)*  is  supposed  to 
be  a  better  thing  than  an  absolution,  though  for  the  latter 
the  priest  demands  the  higher  price.  The  dress  of  these 
sacerdotal  brokers  is  like  that  of  a  capuchin  friar;  the 
head,  too,  is  shaven,  and  there  is  a  string  of  beads. 

There  is  a  general  diversity  in  points  of  religious  be- 
lief; the  Japanese  believe  in  a  Supreme  Being,  and  a 
future  state  of  punishments  and  rewards;  but  these 
pjeneral  truths  are  obscured  by  a  thousand  wild  errors. 
There  are  no  quarrels  for  religion,  and  every  creed  is 
tolerated  but  the  tr  ue.  They  have  such  a  paynim  ha- 
tred of  Chrisiiaus  that  it  is  surprising  they  do  not  favor 
Jews;  they  have  more  ceremonies  and  mummery  than 
can  be  described;  they  have  pilgrimages  to  the  tombs  of 
saints,  and  other  places  considered  holy.  They  are 
given  to  repetitions  in  their  prayers,  and  there  arc  cer- 
tain shrines  of  saints  by  the  road  side,  where  it  is 
thought  advantageous  to  repeat  them  a  great  many 
times. 

That  travellers  in  haste  may  have  the  full  benefit 
without  delay,  there  is  an  ingenious  way  to  pray  by 
machinery;  this  is  a  small  engine  with  a  crank,  where 
the  needful  prayers  are  written  on  a  barrel  wheel,  and 
every  twist  of  the  crank  turns  one  out.  Were  the  Yan- 
kee people  Catholic,  to  pray  to  Saint  George,  and  Saint 
January,  this  would  be  the  very  device  for  that  labor- 


RECOLLECTIONS    OF   JAPAN. 


229 


ire  must 
viri;in3, 
stial  em- 
he  head 
et  policy 
;ss  stock 

I  maxims 
ed  on  in 
tposed  to 
the  latter 
I  of  these 
riar;  the 
'ads. 

gious  be- 

ig,  and  a 

ut  these 

d  errors. 

creed  is 

ynim  ha- 

not  favor 

lery  than 

tombs  of 

'hey  are 

are  ccr- 

lere  it  is 

at   many 

1  benefit 
pray  by 
ik,  where 
heel,  and 
the  Yan- 
:ind  Saint 
at  labor- 


saving  race,  though   in  these  times  there  is  a  little  too 
much  friction  to  their  wheels. 

There  were  at  Nangasaki  seven  Chinese  junks  from 
Amoy,  a  large  town  in  the  province  of  Fokein,  on  the 
Straits  of  Formosa.  Fourteen  commonly  arrive  in 
the  year,  and  each  junk  takes  away  thirteen  hundred 
chests  of  copper,  for  there  is  a  restriction  that  no  more 
ehall  be  taken;  their  other  lading  consists  in  a  few 
eharks's  fins,  and  in  lacquered  ware.  The  junks  are 
not  of  the  largest  class,  and,  considering  the  model,  it  is 
amazing  that  they  should  ever  reach  Japan;  they  would 
be  but  queer  tubs  in  the  Bay  of  Biscay.  They  seem 
capacious,  like  a  Dutch  galliot,  but  it  is  only  because 
they  are  so  high  forward  and  aft,  for  they  are  shallow 
in  the  water.  The  sails  are  of  mats  and  the  anchors 
are  of  wood,  for  the  Chinese  are  too  proud  and  too  bigot- 
ed to  old  usages  to  copy  the  light  model  of  European 
chips.  On  the  largest  junk  mast  is  a  square  sail  of 
about  half  an  acre  (more  or  less;)  there  is  no  reefing 
this  kind  of  canvass — but  there  are  small  apertures, 
like  doors,  in  the  middle  of  the  sail,  which  arc  opened 
and  shut.  , 

The  Japanese  bestow  certain  hospitable  attentions  up- 
on their  friends,  the  Chinese;  that  is,  they  pen  them  up 
like  sheep,  and  haul  the  junks  high  and  dry  ashore. 
The  Chinese  have  a  national  aptitude  for  smuggling, 
which  gift  has  been  cultivated  by  art,  and  with  all  the 
Japanese  caution,  there  is  a  brisk  trade  that  is  not  on 
the  books  of  the  customs. 

There  was  an  affray  between  the  officers  of  the  rev- 
enue and  the  crew  of  a  junk;  contraband  goods  were 
on  board,  and  th'e  officers  were  received  with  the  cere- 
mony of  a  volley  of  missiles.  It  is  strange  that  the  of^ 
fenders  escaped  so  easily;  they  had  but  a  hundred 
lashes  apiece,  except  the  officers  who  had  double, 
20 


^ 


230 


RECOLLECTIONS   OF   JAPAN. 


though  as  the  crew  was  large,  I  pitied  the  floggers,  for 
on  a  melting  hot  day  they  had  to  lay  on  about  forty 
thousand  lashes.  The  Chinese  made  horrid  grimaces; 
but  had  the  Dutch  committed  a  crime  like  this,  a  hard 
death  would  have  followed  it,  for  the  Japanese  would  as 
soon  suffer  their  own  dogs  to  turn  upon  them. 

The  upper  Banjo,  or  chief  officer  of  the  customs  was  a 
man  of  such  natural  shrewdness  and  untiring  persever- 
ance, that  it  was  thought  he  would  have  a  higher  place 
at  Jeddo;  he  permitted  me  to  read  the  invoices  of  the 
articles  brought  from  China,  which  were  sugar  candy, 
silks,  clothes,  porcelains,  hard-ware,  cardamum  seed, 
betel-nut,  gold  in  bars,  liquorice  root,  and  sandal  wood. 

All  the  metals  of  Japan  are  of  the  best  quality;  the 
copper  is  excellent,  and  as  to  steel,  the  best  tools  I  ever 
had  were  brought  from  Japan.  There  are  mines  of  gold, 
which  it  is  the  wise  policy  of  the  Emperor  to  close;  there 
is  one  in  sight  of  Nangasaki,  guarded  day  and  night,  as  if 
access  to  it  would  depopulate  or  demoralize  the  country. 

While  at  Nangasaki,  I  was  permitted  several  times 
to  go  freely  and  unattended  into  the  town,  where  I  was 
treated  with  the  utmost  kindness.  There  was  an  alac- 
rity to  show  me  what  I  desired  to  see,  and  to  minister 
to  my  convenience,  that  showed  a  good  heart  in  the 
Japanese.  I  do  not  remember  to  have  seen  a  town  with 
BO  many  happy  faces,  and,  during  my  whole  stay,  I  did 
not  see  anything  like  a  wrangle.  The  ladies  that  I  was 
permitted  to  behold,  had  delicate  features,  and  small,  but 
expressive,  eyes;  many  of  them  would  have  been  thought 
beautiful  in  your  own  fastidious  city,  and  the  manner 
of  arranging  the  hair  seemed  to  have  been  studied  from 
a  Grecian  statue,  though  the  locks  were  a  little  swelled 
out  from  the  temples  as  in  the  Sphinx. 


RECOLLECTIONS    OP   JAPAN. 


231 


They  are  not  so  dark  even  as  the  Italians;  for  they 
seldom  encounter  the  direct  gaze  of  the  sun,  and  all 
flowers  that  bloom  in  the  shade,  are  pale;  yet  they 
take  some  exercise,  chiefly  in  a  small  cart  with  low 
wheels,  that  a  servant  pushes  before  him  after  the  man- 
ner of  a  wheelbarrow.  There  are  many  coaches  also 
of  the  antique  European  construction,  which  are  drawn 
by  horses,  or  oxen. 

Another  device  of  the  ladies  to  walk  forth  in  the  shade 
is  a  sort  of  umbrella,  in  the  shape  of  a  bell  or  an  ex- 
tinguisher to  r  lamp.  It  has  a  window  in  front,  and  a 
servant  wall,  i  ten  feet  in  the  rear  of  his  mistress  and 
holds  it  over  her  head  and  shoulders  from  the  end  of  a 
pole;  it  has  a  picturesque  appearance  and  the  lady 
looks  like  a  butterfly  under  the  petals  of  a  lily. 

A  spanking  pair  of  oxen  makes  a  very  good  team, 
and  they  show  better  abreast,  than  as  I  have  seen  them 
in  Gloucestershire  in  a  tandem  aliquando.  In  Europe 
the  prejudice  is  in  favor  of  horses,  but  in  Asia  the  ass 
is  as  honorable  a  beast,  and  at  Japan  and  the  Cape  of 
Good  Hope  the  ox  is  not  without  estimation.  In  that 
part  of  Africa  an  ox  is  broke  to  the  saddle,  and  made 
to  curvet  like  a  nog;  I  have  myself  seen  the  King  of  the 
Hottentots,  (and  a  handsome  man  he  was)  riding  through 
Cape  Town  full  speed  upon  a  brown  ox. 

In  describing  the  festival  of  the  lanterns,  I  omitted 
one  peculiarity,  for,  ac  ;rding  to  the  strictness  of  an- 
cient custom,  it  is  not  lawful  to  demand  payment,  except 
at  this  feast.  It  is  too  good  a  custom  to  be  confined  to 
an  island,  for  once  in  a  year  is  enough  to  be  dunned 
anywhere.  Of  all  lugubrious  days  (and  just  now  they 
are  doubly  dismal,)  of  all  first  days  of  winter  or  last  of 
autumn,  of  all  solemn  anniversaries  of  unfortunate  events 
not  one  is  as  sorrowful  as  the  last  day  of  grace.     The 


^«'aw*»«";. 


hai!'l!'«2fe3 


Kom 


232 


RECOLLECTIONS    OP  JAPAN. 


dew  drops  may  glitter  on  the  rose  in  the  morning, 
the  breath  of  summer  may  come  over  banks  of  violets, 
the  sun  may  rise  like  an  orb  of  glory,  but  it  will  seem 
cheerless  as  it  did  to  the  sick  Lefevrc  and  his  son,  when 
it  ushers  in  the  last  day  of  grace. 

There  is  another  feast  that  smacks  a  little  of  chival- 
ry, religion,  (as  in  some  of  our  feuds)  is  the  pretext  j 
hoc  prcelexit  nomine  culpam,  but  private  animosity  ia 
the  cause.  This  festival,  which  is  held  in  honor  of  the 
god  of  war,  brings  into  the  lists  a  great  many  combat- 
ants, who  take  this  method  to  settle  their  private  quar- 
rels, and,  in  a  country  where  revenge  is  virtue,  many 
dead  bodies  must  be  left  upon  the  field.  Ignorant  sav- 
ages! that  know  no  better  way  to  get  satisfaction  for 
injuries  received,  or  inflicted;  for  we  hate  those  more 
whom  we  injure,  than  those  who  injure  us.  With  us 
Christians,  revenge  is  as  sweet,  and  is  safer  to  be  had  than 
in  Japan;  the  general  custom  here,  is  not  to  attack  life  it- 
self, but  that  whereon  life  depends,  and  which  is  more 
to  our  enemies  than  money  was  to  Shylock.  We  airn 
our  archery  at  the  character  and  reputation  of  our  foes, 
and  as  we  shoot  from  an  ambush,  the  victim  writhes, 
while  the  archer  is  unknown;  he  is  invisible  as  the  pesti- 
lence that  walks  at  noon  day,  and,  having  inflicted  the 
wound,  is  commonly  the  first  to  ofller  his  insulting  con- 
dolence to  the  sufferer.  This  is  often  done  under  the 
white  robe  of  public  duty;  and  a  man  that  has  the  ran- 
cor of  hell  in  his  soul,  will  immolate  one  whom  he  en- 
vies, under  the  pretence  that  he  is  serving  the  common- 
wealth. 

The  salutations  of  the  Japanese  are  more  graceful  than 
those  of  Europe.  These  people  however  incline  too 
much  to  ceremony;  enough  to  remind  one  of  Noodle 
and  Doodle,  on  the  stage;  it  is  nevertheless,  the  gen- 
uine politeness,  like  that  we  call  of  the  old  school,  un- 


m 


RECOLLECTIONS   OP   JAPAN. 


299 


morning, 
of  violets, 
wiW  seem 
3on,  when 

of  chival- 
pretcxtj 
nosify  is 
nor  of  the 
Y  combat- 
k^ate  quar- 
ue,  many 
)rant  sav- 
action  fop 
lose  more 
With  us 
e  had  than 
ack  hfe  it- 
:;h  is  more 
We  aim 
four  foes, 
n  writhes, 
the  pesti* 
licted  the 
hing  con- 
under  the 
i  the  ran- 
om  he  en- 
coramon- 

ceful  than 
icline  too 
►f  Noodle 
the  gen- 
ihool,  un- 


like the  total  apathy  and  suppression  of  all  feeling  that 
constitutes  hi<;h  breeding  in  England.  At  London,  it 
is  vulgar  to  be  moved  or  surprised  at  anything,  and  a 
man  of  fashion  would  lose  caste  to  show  temper  while  he 
is  bitterly  insulting  another  or  to  wink  at  the  explosion 
of  a  powder  magazine. 

Cross  the  channel  and  you  find  a  different  state  of 
things,  to  which  it  is  not  possible  for  an  Englishman 
to  accommodate  himself.  For  to  be  a  favorite  with  the 
dames  of  France,  one  must  have  enthusiasm  in  all  things. 
This  will  cover  all  defects  and  without  it  there  is  no  fa- 
vor in  Paris.  Americans  are  more  caressed  there  than 
the  English,  because  they  have  never  trained  them- 
selves to  suppress  the  marks  of  all  emotion  as  a  duty  of 
politeness,  and  because  they  have  also  more  ardor  of 
character  than  the  English. 

That  the  Japanese  are  no  wranglers  miy  be  seen  in 
their  dictionary.  They  have  no  terms  of  abuse  in  the 
language  and  one  cannot  in  words  abuse  another,  un- 
less by  a  figure  of  speech. 

In  English,  we  have  in  controversy  the  advantage  of 
about  four  thousand  words  of  abuse  that  were  created 
for  the  system  of  private  warfare  that  I  mentioned 
above;  they  express  every  variety  of  reproach  from  that 
which  is  but  slightly  ridiculous,  to  that  which  includes 
an  utter  destitution  of  intellect,  morals  or  manners.  Au- 
thors stand  at  the  head  of  our  literature,  only  from  their 
skill  in  the  application  of  these  terms,  and  the  invention 
of  figures  to  express  the  same  meaning  more  circuitous- 
ly,  and  therefore  with  more  elegance;  it  follows  that 
Junius  and  Swif>,  and  newspaper  writers  generally,  will 
be  the  last  to  be  translated  into  Japanese. 


20* 


f 


m 


234 


RECOLGCTIONS    OF   JAPArf. 


NO.  III. 


lid 


f. 


Dear  Sir — Japan  is  ns  populous  as  an  old  chcoge, 
and  it  is  cultivated  like  a  garden.  Botanists  complain 
of  the  scarcity  of  all  but  the  useful  and  cultivated  plants; 
all  others  are  considered  weeds,  and  eradicated  as  our 
farmers  grub  up  a  shrub  oak.  It  would  fatten  Mr 
Coko  of  Norfolk  (supposing  him  to  be  lean)  to  ride  a 
hundred  miles  in  this  country  ;  there  is  nothing  like  it 
even  about  Holkhani.  Therp  is  such  a  population  in 
Jopan  that  little  land  can  lie  fallow  ;  what  think  you  of 
6000  people  to  the  square  mile  r  It  is  equal  to  the 
number  in  Washington  City. 

The  inhabitants,  however,  have  various  ways  of  re- 
ducing the  census,  one  of  which  is  to  strangle  their  in- 
fants, when  earthquakes  have  grown  so  unfrcquent  that 
there  are  more  mouths  than  penny  loaves,  for  there  arc 
no  wars,  as  in  Europe,  wherein  the  surplus  vagabonds 
may  be  expended.  How  would  their  wise  men  marvel 
at  our  policy  and  power  of  multiplying  the  population, 
es;iecially  in  Ohio,  and  States  westward  !  It  would  aston- 
ish the  political  economists  of  Japan  to  be  told  that  in 
1787  Ohio  had  no  white  people;  that  in  three  years 
more  it  had  three  thousand  whites  ;  in  ten  years  there- 
fom  fortytwo  thousand, ;  in  ten  years  more  two  hun- 
dred and  thirty  thousand,  and  in  fiye  years  later  four 
hundred  thousand.  This  is  wonderful,  even  here,  but 
in  other  countries  it  is  scarely  credible.  The  scavans 
of  Japan  say  that  they  have  no  accurate  data  for  a 
correct  census ;  and  that  they  might  as  well  try  to 
count  the  birds  on  the  trees  as  a  people  with  so  many 
thousands,  without  house  or  home,  settlement  or  parish. 
Jeddo,  they  say,  has  ten  mil  ijns,  and  I  think  it  can 
have  little  less  ;  if  this  be  an  invention,  it  is  a  lie  with 


nECOLLECTIONS   OF   JAPAN. 


S35 


d  clicoee, 
complain 
;d  plants; 
cd  as  our 
ittcn  Mr 
to  ride  a 
ng  like  it 
Illation  in 
Ilk  you  of 
ul  to  the 

lys  ofre- 
their  in- 
[uent  that 
there  arc 
ag abend 9 
;n  marvel 
>pulation, 
jid  aston- 
d  that  in 
ee  years 
irs  there- 
two  hun- 
ater  four 
lere,  but 
;  scavans 
at  a  for  a 
11  try  to 
so  many 
)r  parish. 
ik  it  can 
1  lie  with 


a  circumstance,  for  they  say  that  the  official  returns 
give  in  the  main  streets  two  hundred  and  eighty  thou- 
sand houses,  with  an  average  of  more  than  thirty  peo- 
ple to  a  house,  and  that  the  very  blind  amount  to  thirtysix 
thousand.  This  gives  a  town  about  one  hundred  and 
forty  times  as  large  as  Boston.  Meaco  which  is  a  small 
town  in  comparison,  has,  according  to  Krcmpfer,  two 
millions  six  hundred  thousand  people  ;  he  was  a  day  in 
riding  through  it,  though  not  a  direct  line  and  probably 
not  at  the  top  of  his  speed. 

The  Japanese  ships  are  inferior  even  to  the  Chinese. 
To  diminish  the  probability  of  the  dreaded  foreign  inter- 
course, the  ships  arc  obliged  by  law  to  have  such  low 
Bterns  that  they  could  not  live  in  any  sea  ;  they  are  un- 
safe even  in  creeping  along  the  shore.  The  .ivigation 
about  Japan  is  so  difTicult,  that  it  is  good  training  for 
seamen  ;  and  the  Japanese  are  excellent  sailors,  con- 
ducting their  miserable  craft  with  great  skill  among 
rocks,  shoals,  sandbanks,  whirlpools,  reefs  of  rocks, 
coral  and  waterspouts.  These  watcr«poutd  are  called,  in 
Japanese  philosophy,  sea  dragons;  and  they  are  really 
thought  to  be  animals  with  long  tails.  Were  not  tho 
sailors  adventurous,  there  would  be  no  navigation,  for 
a  voyage  often  leagues  is  as  perilous  as  the  first  voy- 
age of  Columbus. 

These  people  make  no  use  of  the  flesh  of  animals  that 
are  employed  in  labor,  so  that  good  beef  is  not  in  repute, 
and  in  fact,  little  animal  food  is  eaten;  the  chief  and  fa- 
vorite food  is  rice  and  vegetables,  though  the  priests  eat 
animal  food.  As  there  are  few  cjittle,  there  is  neilher 
milk,  nor  butter,  nor  cheese;  and  sheep,  goats,  and  hogs, 
are  seldom  kept.  But  if  the  Japanese  care  little  for  beef 
and  mutton,  they  have  the  true  insular  taste  for  fish;  they 
eat  all  that  the  sea  produces,  which  are  the  more  esteem- 
ed, if  they  have  lain  for  a  week  dead  upon  the  shore. 


I: 


236 


RECOLLECTION}   OF   JAPAN. 


P 


i 


ii. 


The  dress  of  the  people  is  uniform,  and  has  been  so 
for  ages,  so  that  a  good  garment  for  state  occasions  ma/ 
serve  a  great  many  generations.  It  is  not  so  here, 
where  the  fashion  of  a  coat  changes  before  the  tailor  is 
paid,  supposing,  that  he  gives  a  moderate  credit. 
The  neck  and  part  of  the  breast  are  bare,  the  robe  is 
loose,  the  sleeves  wide,  and,  in  a  cold  day,  ♦he  hands 
thru£:t  into  them,  as  in  a  muff.  They  seldom  wear 
hats,  but  what  are  worn  are  generally  of  straw,  wide 
and  tied  under  the  chin,  though  I  have  seen  a  grandee 
in  a  leather  hat,  richly  gilded  like  a  dome  in  Moscow. 
When  the  sun  is  too  hot  for  the  brain,  the  fan  is  raised 
for  a  shade,  for  a  fan  is  an  essential  part  of  the  equip- 
ment, and  there  is  a  long  code  of  ceremonies  for  its 
regulation.  Soldiers  wear  it  in  the  girdle  by  the  side 
of  their  sabres. 

A  common  soldier  is  a  sort  of  prince  over  all  but  his 
comrades.  The  sabre  is  his  chief  wo. ipon,^  and  it  is  of 
80  excellent  a  temper  that  it  will  cut  off  a  board  nail 
without  injury  to  the  edge.  The  guns  are  clumsy 
matchlocks,  but  the  bow  and  arrow  is  a  better  weapon. 
The  soldier  wears  armor,  visor  and  hemlet ;  a  dresa 
admirably  adapted  to  encumber  him,  but  it  has  one  ad- 
vantage, preventing  the  possibility  of  a  retreat.  The 
soldier  is  paid,  as  all  are  paid,  by  those  who  cultivate 
the  soil,  and  he  is  ungrateful  enough  to  oppress  his  pay- 
master. The  payment  is  in  rice,  which  is  a  sortof  cir- 
culating medium.  The  soldier  is  as  much  above  the 
proper  grade  as  the  husbandman  is  below  it;  for  the  latter 
must  share  the  produce  about  equally  with  the  lords  of 
the  country. 

'  Sic  vos  noil  vobisfertis  aratra  boves.' 

There  are  a  great  many  monks  and  religious  recluses 
who  live  in  celibacy,  perhaps  in  chastity,  and  endure 
penance  from  choice.     They  seem,  (like  wis^  men)  to 


■J 


RECOLLECTIONS   OF   JAPAN. 


237 


)  been  so 
ions  may 

so  here, 
!!  tailor  ia 
credit, 
e  robe  is 
le  hands 
om  wear 
iw,  wide 

grandee 
Moscow. 

is  raised 
le  equip- 
s  for  its 

the  side 

11  but  his 

d  it  is  of 

)ard  nail 

clumsy 

weapon. 

a  dress 
!  one  ad- 
at.  The 
cultivate 

his  pay- 
irtof  cir- 
)ove  the 

he  latter 

lords  of 


recluses 

endure 

men)  to 


distrust  their  own  power  of  resistance,  and  therefore 
perm'i  no  females  to  approach  their  dwellings.  I  saw 
female  devotes,  dressed  like  nuns,  affecting  an  air  o' 
modesty  that  sat  gracefully  upon  them, — but  if  they 
were  indeed  modest  common  fame  owes  them  reparation. 
There  is  a  religous  order  of  the  blind,  (we  have  some, 
but  of  the  '  mind'si  eye,  Horatio')  which  is  governed  by 
a  principal,  who  has  great  powers.  The  religion  of  Fo 
is  gaining  followers  ;  it  includes  a  belief  that  all  men 
and  beasts  have  souls  that  are  immortal — that  there  ia 
a  distinction  between  good  and  evil,  and  that  Lad  men 
after  death  will  animate  the  bodies  of  some  brute,  whoir 
living  they  most  resembled,  be  it  dog,  fox,  wolf,  or 
hyena.  Men,  who  look  into  their  own  hearts  and  find 
that  all  is  good,  put  a  period  to  a  well  spent  life  tho 
sooner  to  enjov  the  reward,  but  with  us  I  have  seldom 
known  o  good  man  become  his  own  hangman. 

In  n  country,  whose  laws  are  the  will  of  one  man, 
and  whose  will  it  must  be  that  his  favorites  live  in  splen- 
dor, there  are  many  poor  ;  and  the  beggars  are  a  body 
80  large  that  it  seems  strange  they  do  not  rob.  Tho 
dogs  too,  as  in  some  villages  in  New  England,  are  more 
ntKuerous  than  tho  people,  and  they  arc  no  less  attcn- 
tivo  to  strangers  than  our  own  curs.  I  was  not  long 
since  at  a  town  in  Middlesex,  where,  at  the  confines,  I 
was  waited  upon  by  a  deputation  <tf  six  dogs,  who  turn- 
ed me  over  to  seven  other  bands  before  all  the  honors 
were  done,  and  I  fairly  out  of  the  village,  'n  Japan 
these  faithful  animals  arc  held  in  honor  ;  you  'vill  never 
see  one  kicked  by  an  ungrateful  master,  jV  scouring 
away  with  a  tin  canister  at  his  tail,  for  the  pleasure  of 
a  malicious  schoolboy.  Here,  as  in  Turkey,  these  aro 
dog-hospitals,  where  an  old  hound  is  fed  upon  soups, 
and  in  his  age  he  sleeps  in  the  sun,  sleek  and  well  fed, 
urging  the  chase  in  his  (keams  and  yelping  as  the  prej 
seems  within  his  reach. 


MMi 


238 


RECOLLECTIONS    OF    JAPAN. 


ii 


■ 


-) 


/ 


In  our  country,  a  dog  is  less  to  be  envied  ;  the  pup 
no  sooner  opens  his  eyes  (which  is  not  done  in  a  day) 
upon  this  unfeeling  world,  than  his  tail  is  abbreviated, 
and  his  ears  are  cut  off.  If  he  have  a  master,  of  an  easy 
and  placable  temper  he  is  starved,  and  punished  when 
he  steals,  though  what  can  poor  Tray  know  of  mtxvm 
and  <«y»i,  when  the  latter  is  the  form  of  a  piece  of  meat. 
If  the  master  is  severe  and  stern  to  view,  the  dog  has 
little  to  solace  him  but  the  old  saw,  that  every  one  must 
have  his  day.  He  must  suffer  for  the  ill-humor  of  his 
master,  who,  when  he  is  aggrieved  by  an  equal,  that  he 
dare  not  oppose,  gives  vent  to  his  indignation  upon  his 
dog  ;  who  is,  like  the  safety  valve  of  an  engine,  an  out- 
let for  the  superabundant  ebullition.  The  poor  brute 
feels  no  anger,  but  perhaps  loves  the  more,  and,  with 
such  humility  and  fidelity,  that  had  he  but  reason,  he 
would  be  a  better  christian  than  his  master. 

Japan  is  the  paradise  of  dogs,  which  is  more  than  can 
be  said  of  New  England;  the  dogs,  however,  like  some 
rich  men,  are  better  fed  than  taught.  As  they  are  more 
in  number  than  the  men,  they  could  bring  an  immense 
body  into  the  f  ^.Id;  their  number,  too,  is  constantly  full, 
or  increasing,  for  they  are  liable  to  few  of  the  accidents 
that  take  off  their  masters.  Pestilence  passes  by  and 
touches  them  not;  the  earthquake  can  overtake  few  so 
light  of  foot;  and,  unlike  their  owners,  they  have  too 
much  natural  feeling  to  destroy  their  own  offspring. 
That  fabulous  malady,  hydrophobia,  is  not  known  among 
them;  but  at  home,  I  have  known  all  the  curs  in  a  vil- 
lage knocked  on  the  head,  because  one  of  their  lineage 
retreated  with  his  tail  under  his  l«gs,  from  the  pitchforks 
of  the  bumpkins.  I  myself  once  gave  chace  to  a  spotted 
dog,  from  morning  to  a  summer  noon.  Three  of  us  went 
to  hunt  the  mad  dog,  and  in  going  eight  miles,  our  num- 
burs  increased  to  si.xtyfive,  rank  and  file,  animated  with 


RECOLLECTIONS    OF   JAFaN. 


239 


one  soul,  but  armed  with  various  weapons.  The  dog 
charged  three  times,  and  thrice  he  dispersed  the  column; 
when  he  made  the  last  charge,  I  was  myself  in  front,  and 
seeing  no  foam  at  his  mouth,  and  little  ferocity  in  his 
eye,  I  called  to  him,  he  wagged  hjs  tail,  and  surrendered. 
I  named  him  Rescue,  and  kept  him  five  y^ars,  when  he 
was  hung,  on  a  charge  of  worrying  sheep;  for  the  proof, 
on  the  court  martial,  established  the  fact,  that  the  sheep 
had  been  worried,  and  probably  by  a  dog.  I  have  known 
a  man  hung  upon  slighter  grounds,  and  what  is  the  hope 
for  a  cur?         . '        •  ^  • 

These  dog-hospitals,  that  I  told  you  of,  remind  me  of 
a  sect  of  philosophers  in  India,  so  humane  that  they  not 
only  brush  away  with  feathers  all  insects  from  their  path, 
but  so  pious  and  charitable  as  to  leave  funds  for  their 
support.  There  is,  at  Benares,  a  Refuge  for  Destitute 
Mosquitoes,  where  the  funds  are  bestowed  on  certain 
beef-eating  fellows,  who  offer  their  bare  legs  and  arms, 
three  times  a  day,  for  bills  as  large  as  a  small  giinblet. 

On  the  Dorchester  flats,  the  mosquitoes  are  as  largo 
and  as  hungry  as  in  India,  but  I  never  knc  >ut  one  fool 
to  feed  them  with  his  own  bloud;  a  few  fislnrmen  had 
kindled  a  fire  to  smoke  them  pway,  when  one  made  a  bet 
with  another,  that  he  would  for  five  minutes  suffer,  with- 
out wincing,  every  insect  that  would  bite,  come  cut  or 
long  tail.  Strip,  was  the  word,  and  the  sufferer  laid 
down  as  quietly  as  if  he  were  to  die  for  his  creed  or 
country.  Four  minutes  and  a  half  had  gone,  and  he  lay 
as  motionless  as  the  Dying  Gladiator;  but  his  comrade 
came  behind,  like  Glenalvon,  and  touched  him  on  the 
back  with  a  burning  coal,  when  the  poor  fellow  clapped 
his  hand  on  the  part,  saying, '  I  should  have  won,  though, 
but  for  that  d d  gannmippcr.^ 

There  are  a  great  many  unlucky  days  in  the  Japanese 
calendar,  on  which  they  begin  no  enterprise,  and  the 


I J 


240 


RECOLLECTIONS   OF   JAPAN. 


w 


nl 


;H' 


priests  have  something  to  do  in  consequence  of  this  be- 
lief. They  jxlso  have  possession  of  a  great  many  warm 
springs,  which  are  always  found  in  volcanic  districts, 
and  each  fountain  has  the  power  to  wash  away  a  partic- 
ular sin;  and  who  would  not  like  to  wash  away  his  sins 
without  the  trouble  of  amending  his  heart  and  hi«  life? 
The  consequence  is,  that  there  are  a  great  many  bathers 
at  high  pric-es.  There  is  on  a  mountain  a  countless 
number  of  these  priests  or  bonzes,  and  they  exercise  un- 
limited power,  and  attract  half  Japan  in  pilgrimages. 
They  have  a  large  scale,  of  which  one  end  is  over  a^ 
abyss,  and  in  this  the  pilgrim  is  placed  for  confession;  if 
he  does  not  tell  all  his  faults,  or  if  he  is  supposed  not 
to  tell  all,  the  balance  is  shaken,  and  he  falls  to  destruc- 
tion. 

The  Japanese  have  universally  such  a  taste  for  gar- 
dening, that  you  would  think  them  a  nation  of  garden- 
ers. These  gardens  are,  many  of  them,  scooped  out  like 
an  amphitheatre,  descended  by  steps,  and  have  arti- 
ficial rocks,  hilk;  ponds,  and  islands.  Like  the  English, 
they  follow  nature,  or  rather  embellish  it,  and  you  will 
see  no  rectangular  walks,  or  yew  trees  cut  in  fanciful 
shapes.  Even  the  poor  people,  whose  possessions  are 
but  ten  rods  square,  have  miniature  gardens  like  those 
described. 

Where  the  houses  are  built  of  wood,  and.  sometimes 
covered  with  flags,  there  must  be  a  most  orthodox  dread 
of  fire,  and  therefore  no  man  in  Japan  is  more  honored 
than  he  that  ca.i  extinguish  one.  Of  course,  arson  is 
not  a  light  crime,  and  the  criminal  has  a  touch  of  the 
lexialionis;  he  is  tied  to  a  stake,  and  roasted  alive. 

In  the  districts,  there  is  a  sort  of  mutual  insurance, 
that  is,  all  the  community  are  responsible  for  any  disor- 
der, as  was  the  case  in  Saxon  times  in  England.  But 
every  man  has  a  way  to  insure  himself;  and  though  it 


RECOLLECTIONS   Of  JAPAN. 


241 


always  fails  him,  a  failure  never  shakes  his  confidence. 
That  is,  every  one  has  a  charm  or  amulet;  generally,  a 
distorted  human  figure  is  placed  over  the  door,  when  no 
misfortune  or  disease  can  be  supposed  to  enter — ^yetthe 
inmates  die. 

Short  courtships  are  in  fashion  at  Japan,  though  chil- 
dren, however,  who  are  plighted  by  their  parents,  are 
married  when  of  age.  The  husband  has  the  power  of 
putting  away  his  wife,  and  without  assigning  a  better 
reason  than  his  own  will.  This  is  hardly  a  practice  to 
make  tender  husbands. 

The  grandees  allow  little  freedom  to  their  wives,  who 
have  but  the  range  of  their  own  apartments.  Father 
Charlevoix  says  that  the  fidelity  and  modesty  of  the  la- 
dies are  equal  to  the  suspicion  of  their  lords,  and  thinks 
that  the  Japanese  have  the  happy  art  of  restraining  the 
liberty  and  retaining  the  affection  of  their  wives — in 
which  the  good  Father  displays  as  much  charity  as 
sagacity. 


NO.  IV. 


HiR — Jugglers  are  so  common  in  Japan,  that  it  seems 
that  one  in  fifly  of  the  people  practice  the  black  art, 
though  this  estimate  makes  a  formidable  corps  of  wizards. 
They  have  a  thousand  ways  to  cheat  the  eyes,  and  are 
80  dexterous  that  I  could  not  account  for  their  tricks, 
but  by  supposing  assistance  from  the  powers  of  evil. 
There  are  a  great  many  young  women,  proficients  in 
these  dark  studies;  and  it  is  a  more  horrid  sight  than  you 
can  imagine,  to  see  them  covered,  neck,  arms,  and  body, 
21 


34S 


RECOLLECTIONS   OF  JAPIN. 


^ 


HB  ' 

|Hi:; 

■ 

|. 

Ifl  L 

ji 

u 


with  hissing  snakes,  whose  h^^ads  are  protruded  as  if  to 
bite. 

In  all  useful  domestic  machinery,  the  Japanese  are 
centuries  in  our  rear,  though,  according  to  some  econo- 
mists, it  might  be  doing  them  a  mischief  to  instruct  them 
in  the  mystery  of  a  mill.  Their  mill  is  the  primitive 
pestle  and  mortar;  the  rice  is  pounded  with  a  sort  of 
mallet,  and  I  saw  no  machinery  whatever,  though  some 
there  may  have  been.  But  I  suppose  the  fur  would  rise 
upon  your  back,  were  I  to  speak  slightly  of  all  machinery 
to  save  labor,  though,  to  be  frank,  I  like  best  the  old 
buzzing  household  wheel.         ""  '      ' 

Having  commended  the  beauty  of  the  Japanese  wo- 
Hien,  though  their  eyes  are  somewhat  small,  you  may 
ask  if  I  can  praise  thf^m  for  higher  qualifications.  Of 
countries  where  travellers  are  few,  many  errors  must 
exist  in  the  description;  and  from  the  accounts  of  some, 
the  ladies  of  Japan  are  not  distinguished  for  reserve,  or 
even  for  pretensions  of  modesty.  I  have  better  thoughts 
of  them,  and  would,  thirty  years  ago,  have  tak^n  a  wife 
among  them,  rather  than  espouse  a  young  woman  of 
Sicily.  To  tell  you  the  truth,  which  must  go  no  farther, 
I  had  inducements  in  both  countries,  but  did  not  (intend- 
ing no  pun)  embrace  the  opportunity.  The  women  of 
Japan  are  neat  in  their  persons  and  dress,  and  they  can- 
not be  weak  mothers,  to  instill  into  their  children  such 
lessons  of  courage  and  fortitude;  they  never  heard  of 
Cornelia,  but  their  sons  prefer  death  to  shame. 

In  no  country  are  baths  so  universal  as  in  Japan,  where 
they  are  in  every  private  and  public  house.  An  inn 
would  as  much  lose  its  reputation  there,  to  be  without  a 
bath,  as  in  New  England  it  would  suffer  in  credit  with- 
out a  bar.  There  is  a  moderate  drinking,  too,  in  Japan; 
I  saw  no  wine,  but  there  are  distilled  spirits,  and  it  is  not 


m^mm^-j^^ 


RECOLLECTIONS   OF  JAPAN. 


243 


led  aa  if  to 

panese  are 
)me  econo- 
struct  them 
le  primitive 
h  a  sort  of 
tough  some 
r  would  rise 
I  machinery 
est  the  old 

panese  wo- 
1,  you  may 
ations.  Of 
errors  must 
tits  of  some, 
reserve,  or 
ter  thoughts 
ak  ^n  a  wife 
J  woman  of 
0  no  farther, 
not  (intend- 
3  women  of 
[id  they  can- 
tildren  such 
or  heard  of 
e. 

apan,  where 
le.  An  inn 
)e  without  a 
credit  with- 
10,  in  Japan; 
,  and  it  is  not 


considered  very  infamous  to  be  intoxicated  in  the  eve- 
ning, though  a  Christian  community  should  have  no  par- 
don for  the  offender. 

There  is  but  one  power  in  the  constitution  of  Japan, 
the  executive;  for  this  includes  the  legislative  and  the 
judiciary.  The  Emperor's  power  is  easily  defined,  his 
will  is  the  only  law  of  Japan,  though  it  is  sometimes  but 
a  doubtful  standard  of  right  and  wrong;  there  are  grades 
of  crime,  but  no  degrees  of  punishment,  the  slightest 
offence  against  the  laws,  that  is,  the  will  of  a  good  prince, 
deserves  no  less  than  death,  and  offences  of  a  lighter 
kind,  as  arson,  parricide,  or  simple  murder,  are  punished 
with  the  same  severity.  A  great  many  offences  are 
capital,  pn.ljably  about  a  hundred  and  fifty,  or  about 
half  as  many  as  in  the  code  of  Britain,  for  the  Emperor 
must  have  blood!  blood!  blood! 

The  empire  is  divided  into  sixtyeight  provinces,  and 
there  is  a  governor  to  each,  who  adopts  the  mild  politi- 
cal maxims  of  the  Emperor.  Some  of  the  governorg 
come  up  to  Jeddo  with  a  train  of  fifty  thousand  people; 
they  inspect  the  construction  of  roads  and  canals,  and 
the  roads,  therefore,  are  excellent.  It  seems  that  the 
people,  being  restricted  in  their  roving  tastes  from  quit- 
ting Japan,  gratify  themselves  by  constant  motion  at 
home;  for  there  is  no  country  where  the  ways  are  so 
thronged  with  travellers.  There  is  much  trade  from  one 
province  to  another,  and  more  pilgrimages  than  were  in 
England  at  the  time  of  the  Canterbury  Tales.  A  gov- 
ernor goes  on  hor?ehack,  with  two  couriers  before,  cry- 
ing, 'make  way!  ma^.oway!'  even  if  no  one  be  in  sight; 
two  other  footmen  are  attached  to  the  bridle,  to  restrain 
the  horse,  and  two  more  to  the  stirrup,  to  switch  him 
into  a  curvet.  The  governor,  in  the  mean  while,  sits 
like  a  statue  of  dignity,  looking  as  intently  on  the  mane 
of  his  horse,  as  if  it  were  the  fortyseventh  proposition  in 


* 


244 


RECOLLECTIONS   OF  JAFAIT. 


Euclid.  They  are  required  to  cotne  often  to  court,  to 
give  an  account  of  their  stewardship;  and  they  go  thither, 
like  a  Bashaw  to  Constantinople,  prepared  to  share  the 
plunder,  and  purchase  immunity  for  its  extortion.  If  they 
demur  to  the  salvage,  or  otherwise  offend,  they  are  sent 
to  the  island  of  Falsisio,  on  the  southern  point  of  the 
empire,  from  which  they  never  return  to  describe  it.  It 
is  said  to  be  more  barren  than  St  Helena,  affording  no 
sustenance  for  a  rat;  it  is  surrounded  by  beetling  cliff's, 
and  all  visiters  must  be  drawn  up  by  ropes.  It  was  the 
very  place  for  Napoleon;  a  thousand  petty  insults  might 
have  been  heaped  upon  the  General,  and  all  reproaches 
would  have  died  away  before  they  could  reach  the  ears 
of  Europe;  but  then  Sir  Hudson  Lowe  would  not  have 
occupied  in  history  his  enviable  place. 

The  governor  of  Nangasaki,  who  happened  to  know 
more  than  his  countrymen,  sent  to  Batavia  for  an  hun- 
dred ship-carpenters;  not  one  was  to  be  had,  and  the 
.Dutchmen  advised  him  to  send  as  many  of  his  country- 
men to  Holland,  to  learn  its  useful  arts,  but  the  gov- 
ernor died  before  he  could  mature  his  plans. 

At  Meaco,  the  holy  city,  resides  the  Diari,  whose 
empire  is  that  of  public  opinion,  which  has  power  even 
in  Japan.  His  possessions  have  been  lopped  away,  like 
those  of  St.  Peter's  successors,  but  such  is  his  influence 
over  the  minds  of  the  people,  that  half  Japan  is  his  tri- 
butary; and  the  city  of  Meaco  is  his  own  in  fee  tail  male 
general. 

The  Emperor  finds  it  needful  to  pay  homage  to  the 
Diari,  as  Napoleon  condescended  to  cultivate  the  good 
will  of  the  Pope.  The  religion  of  the  Diari,  however, 
is  not  universal  in  Japan;  it  acknowledges  one  Su- 
preme Being,  and  a  future  life.  The  devotees  have 
no   images   in   their  temples,  but  pray   in  front  of  a 


• 


RECOLLECTIONS    OF   JiPiN. 


245 


court,  to 
ro  thither, 
share  the 
n.  Ifthey 
Y  are  sent 
tint  of  the 
ibe  it.  It 
>rding  no 
ing  cliffs, 
t  was  the 
lilts  might 
iproaches 
I  the  ears 
not  have 

to  know 
r  an  hun- 

and  the 
country- 
the  gov- 

ri,  whose 
I'cr  even 
way  J  like 
nfluence 
s  his  tri- 
tail  male 

e  to  the 
he  good 
owever, 
>ne  Su- 
es have 
>nt  of  a 


mirror,  to 


remind   them  that 
as  their   faces 


their  hearts  are  open 
to  the  Deity,  as  their  faces  are  reflected  to  them- 
selves. One  order  of  the  religious  of  this  creed,  is  that 
of  the  Soldiers  of  the  Mountain;  they  live  in  caves,  and 
subsist  upon  charity,  which,  in  superstitious  countries, 
aflTords  to  such  a  splendid  revenue.  As  they  think  bodily 
sufl'ering  an  atonement  for  sin,  penance  is  their  pleasure, 
and  they 

•  Think  to  merit  heaven,  by  making  earth  a  hell.' 

It  is  these,  or  some  other  monks,  that  are  describee'  as 
putting  to  sea  in  crazy  barks,  making  holes  in  the  bot- 
tom, and  singing  hymns  as  they  sink  to  felicity.  They 
also  bury  themselves  alive,  with  space  enough  to  pro- 
long their  torments,  and  suffer  from  choice  the  penalty 
of  a  defiled  vestal  in  the  Roman  commonwealth.  In 
their  pilgrimages,  they  choose  the  roughest  roads,  and 
are  the  best  pleased  where  they  can  find  the  most  flints 
and  thoi'ns  to  lacerate  their  naked  feet,  for  they  have  not 
discovered  the  happy  expedient  of  putting  peas  in  their 
shoes.  Having  no  fear,  they  are  in  no  danger,  for  dan- 
ger is  the  child  of  fear;  and  like  Macbeth  and  Ladurlad, 
they  bear  a  charmed  life,  for  they  run  swiflly  along  the 
verge  of  precipices  that  would  turn  a  common  bruin. 

From  their  superior  austerity,  they  assume  great 
powers  over  the  pilgrims,  for  a  slight  offence  suspending 
them  over  a  chasm  by  the  hands,  and  when  the  strength 
fails,  and  the  grasp  relaxes,  the  body  ir,  dashed  to  a  shape- 
less mass.  The  pilgrims  are  required  to  pray  with  cer- 
tain formalities;  they  must  rest  their  mouths  upon  their 
knees  for  twentyfour  hours,  which  is  the  length  of  a 
moderate  prayer,  and  their  least  motion  is  punished  by  a 
blow. 

In  some  of  the  temples  are  huge  idols,  and  one  is  as 
large  as  the  man  of  mount  Athos;  the  Colossus  of  Rhodes 
21* 


246 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  JAPAN. 


was  but  a  baby  in  comparison;  his  shoulders  are  five 
fathoms  broad,  and  six  men  can  sit  in  the  puhn  of  his 
hand. 

My  recollections  of  Japan  are  so  desultory,  that  I  have 
already  forgotten,  in  my  want  of  method,  what  I  have 
written  before.  But  I  think  I  have  not  mentioned  the 
Ainos,  a  simple  and  primitive  race  of  people,  on  some  of 
the  islands.  They  call  themselves  men,  and  as  the  king 
says,  *  in  the  catalogue,'  they  may  pass  for  such.  These 
Islanders  have  such  beards  as  would  raise  envy  in  a 
Persian  prince;  and  they  have  hair  also  upon  their  backs, 
but  I  tried  in  vain  to  get  one  of  the  pelts.  The  females 
are  said  to  be  modest,  but  modesty  is  thrown  away  upon 
them;  they  have  other  defences,  and  it  is  a  beautiful 
woman  that  has  the  greatest  need  for  modesty.     ^ 

The  Ainos  form  an  early  and  instinctive  alliance  with 
the  bears;  the  cubs  are  taken  young  from  the  mother, 
and  suckled  by  the  women.  Hence  strong  attachments 
subsist  between  the  foster  brethren  with  two,  and  with 
four  legs;  for  the  number  of  legs  seems  to  mark  the  dif- 
ference between  the  animals,  though  sometimes  the  bear 
walks  upright,  and  the  man  upon  all  fours. 

Hunger,  however,  is  stronger  than  affection,  or  Com- 
modore Byron  would  never  have  eaten  his  dog;  and 
when  these  household  cubs  are  fattened,  they  are  killed 
and  eaten.  The  family  mourns  over  the  death  of  a  fa- 
vourite, but  Rnd  some  consolation  in  picking  his  bones; 
yet  they  never  read  in  RochefoucauU,  that  there  is  some- 
thing that  does  not  displease  us,  in  the  misfortunes  of 
our  best  friends;  though  perhaps  he  meant,  when  the 
loss  of  them  is  followed  by  an  inheritance; 

They  live  at  Yesso,  a  sort  of  Japanese  Arcadia,  and 
are  not  as  neat  as  the  Japanese,  nor  yet  as  filthy  as 
the  pastoral  people  I  have  elsewhere  seen,  though  they 
are  never  known  to  wash  themselves. 


AECOLLECTIONS   OF  JAPAN. 


247 


The  men  have  several  wives,  commonly  one  in  the 
different  places  to  which  their  business  calls  them;  they 
have  a  just  law,  that  inflicts  a  severe  punishment  on  adul- 
tery, yet  it  makes  a  discrimination  to  favor  tlie  tempted. 
If  a  woman  is  as  shameless  as  the  wife  of  Potiphar,  and 
gives  her  rings  to  a  man,  this  pledge  secures  him  from 
the  justice  of  the  law,  and  the  venr,eancc  of  the  husband. 

The  Ainos  have  some  traflic  v/ith  the  Kurilc  Islands, 
the  same  that  were  discovered  and  described,  with  some 
exaggerations,  by  Benyoski.  You  may  road  his  adven- 
tures, which  have  a  touch  of  romance,  in  two  volumes; 
he  was  exiled  to  Siberia,  from  whence,  with  others,  he 
escaped  by  seizing  a  ship;  h'^  had  won  the  affections  of 
the  governor's  daughter,  who,  if  I  remember  well,  went 
away  with  him,  though  he  had  a  wife  at  home.  All  these 
things  are  embellished  in  a  drama  of  Kotzebue,  ai^er  his 
manner,  in  the  Stranger, 

«  With  his  sentimentalibus,  lachrymse.roar'em.' 

The  moral  of  each  play  is  equally  good,  covering 
crime  with  passionate  thought  and  seductive  language. 
Benyoski  was  a  man  of  a  restless  mind  and  afterwards 
planted  a  colony  in  the  isle  of  France,  where  he  was 
killed;  saving  my  liability  to  forget. 

There  are  few  streams  in  Japan  that  can  be  called 
rivers,  in  the  American  phrase,  for  here  a  course  of  a 
thousand  miles  is  required  to  constitute  a  river,  yet  the 
streams  of  Japan,  though  small,  are  rapid  and  clear. 
The  lakes  are  in  th<^  same  proportion,  though  there  is 
one  sheet  of  water  more  than  forty  leagues  in  length; 
the  shores  are  lined  with  three  thousand  temples,  which 
make  about  one  temple  to  every  superstition. 

The  trees  of  Europe  that  I  saw  were  the  pine,  and  a 
great  many  noble  willows;  the  fruits  were  oranges,  figa, 
plums,   and   pears.     The  beach  is  fringed  with  cocoa 


a 


mm 


348 


RECOLLECTIONS   Of  JAPJL'S. 


f-i 


trees  and  fan  palms;  and  hero  you  may  see  meadows 
of  nf)imo»a»«,  in  which  the  plant  will  shrink  from  your 
touch,  and  leave  a  clear  space  to  walk  in, 

There  are  few  wild  animals  in  any  of  the  Japanese 
islands;  the  largest  are  wolves,  and  these  not  very  fc- 
rocious,  yet  the  inhabitants  think  that  they  are  the  em- 
bodied spirits  of  evil,  and  so  call  them. 

Kojmpfer  praises  the  justice  of  the  Japanese  laws, 
or  magistrates,  far  above  that  of  Europe,  where  it  is  to 
bo  feared  he  had  tasted  a  suit  at  law.  But  the  infre- 
quency  of  crime  is  produced  by  tremendous  penalties 
uponihe  culpiit,  his  family  and  his  neighbourhood.  In 
disputes,  the  parties  appear  personally  before  the  judge 
and  tell  their  own  story  without  the  intervention  of  a  law- 
yer, or  the  aid  of  special  pleading.  The  Japanese  laws 
like  all  others,  act  more  upon  the  fears  than  the  hopes 
of  the  people,  denouncing  penalties  to  evil  doers,  rather 
than  promising  rewards  to  those  that  do  well.  But  in  free 
countries  there  is  a  counterbalance,  and  though  the 
laws  do  not  offer  premiums  to  virtue,  yet  the  greatest 
reward  is  sure  to  follow  good  conduct  in  wealth,  repu- 
tation and  office;  this  is  universally  true  in  our  own 
pleasant  land,  where  there  is  not  a  single  rogue  in  of^ 
fice,  nor  do  1  take  it  on  myself  to  say  t!mt  any  has  been 
turned  out. 


NO.  V. 


Dear  Sir — This  prosing  has  been  so  long  continued, 
that  it  has  become  to  me  a  pleasure  whatever  it  may  be 
to  the  gentle  readers. 


RE00LLBCTION8   or   JAPAN. 


249 


It  is  very  eaay  to  write  reminiscences,  if  you  require 
no  other  arrangement  than  the  ecu  hc  in  which  the  facts 
occur  to  memory;  though  this  is  not  a  very  philosophi- 
cal connection,  or  the  order  followed  in  the  exact  scien- 
ces. The  epistolary  style  is  also  very  i'avorablo  to  in- 
dolent writers,  and  for  all  writers;  for  it  includes  all 
styles,  from  bald  disjointed  chat  to  the  most  polished 
and  sonorous  period^'. 

Did  I  tell  you  how  they  sleep  in  Japan?  Even  as 
you  and  I  bivouacked  near  the  White  Mountains;  on 
the  floor.  A  coverlid,  (or  as  I  heard  a  senator  call  it,  a 
kiverlid)  stuffed  like  one  of  our  comforters,  is  spread 
upon  the  plank,  and  a  billet  of  wood,  with  a  place  cut 
for  the  head,  stands  substitute  for  a  pillow;  so  that  in 
Japan  it  would  not  do  to  throw  pillows  as  girls  do  at  a 
Loarding  school.  The  luxurious  have  a  small  cushion, 
<;n  the  timber,  but  thi'^  is  rare.  These  people  would 
'nake  as  good  soldiers  as  the  Highlanders;  you  remem- 
ber the  old  chiei\ain  sleeping  with  his  clan  on  t^^  hill 
side,  one  of  which  rolled  up  a  ball  of  snow  whereon  to 
lay  his  head.  '  Out  upon  it!'  said  Lochiel,  giving  it  a 
kick,  '  are  you  so  effeminate  as  to  need  a  pillow?' 

The  Japanese  are  equally  hardy  in  bearing  the  cold, 
though  the  severe  weather  is  but  of  brief  duration.  But 
they  have  no  such  snug  quorters  as  a  chimney  corner, 
imd,  though  they  might  do  battle  for  their  altars,  very 
few  of  them  could  die  for  their  hearths.  In  some  houses, 
however,  there  is  a  mound  raised  in  the  middle  of 
an  apartment,  like  a  blacksmith's  forge,  whereon  they 
make  a  fire,  the  smoke  of  which  ascends  through  a  hole 
in  the  roof. 

The  houses  in  Japan  are  not  so  tastefully  furnished  as 
those  of  Europe,  and  the  beautiful  varnished  tables  and 
boxes  that  are  so  much  admired  are  found  rather  in  their 
cabinets  than  parlors.     The  porcelain  is  good,  but  infe- 


^:.«t'!,lrt4.*.*;!'A^.7&*- 


•.ViiWt»E*fl*^.jfti»»»ii'.'>*.«r » 


»•»-•*..  ■*. 


^50 


RECOLLECTIONS   OF  JAPAIT. 


rior  to  the  Chinese,  and  the  paintings  are  brilliant  and 
gaudy.  The  Japanese  are  fond  of  show,  and  wha*  fur- 
niture they  have  seems  made  rather  for  sight  than  ser- 
vice, more  as  ornaments  than  utensils. 

These  islanders  seem  to  have  the  elements  of  a  great 
character;  they  have  steadiness  of  purpose,  contempt  of 
death,  and,  what  is  more  rare,  of  pain.  They  have  in- 
genuity in  the  arts,  and  aptitude  to  learn  foreign  lan- 
guages. They  seem  to  be  an  odd  mixture  of  the  Italian 
and  the  Russian.  The  passion  oi  revenge  is  with  them 
a  tornado  that  sweeps  away  every  obstacle  in  its  course; 
when  rendered  desperate,  they  are  not,  like  the  Javan- 
ese, satisfied  with  a  general  massacre,  of  running  '  a- 
muck; '  but  they  pursue  their  eicmy  with  the  pertinac- 
ity of  a  beagle.  If  they  fail  to  compass  their  revenge, 
(and  it  is  no  slight  obstacle  that  will  discourage  them) 
they  rip  open  themselves  rather  than  live  in  the  torments 
of  ungratified  rage.  Formerly,  family  feuds  descended 
with  the  family  name,  but  I  did  not  learn  that  debts  of 
gratitude  were  ever  thus  bequeathed;  the  heir  would 
not  so  readily  pay  the  legacies.  The  benefits*  that  a  man 
receives  die  with  him,  and  often  he  survives  his  own 
memory  of  them;  he  tries  to  forget  what  it  is  painful  to 
remcinber,  who  saved  his  life,  or  loaded  him  \\ith  fa- 
.'ors.  while  he  *  remembers  who  owes  him  money  or  gave 
the  last  kick  on  the  shins,'  and  the  memory  of  an  insult, 
an  injury,  a  word,  a  look,  is  hoarded  up  for  revenge. 
To  conclude,  my  hearers,  (for  I  have  got  into  a  sermon 
without  a  text}  if  you  would  practice  a  fashionable  and 
*  gentlemanly  vice,'  take  up  \  th  ingratitude.  Byron 
gave  the  preference  to  avarice,  but  I  can  show  you  a 
great  many  men  on  'Change  and  in  church,  proficients  in 
both.  ' 

I  found  at  Nangasaki   several  of  the  natives,  who 
were  shrewd  and  intelligent,  and  I  explained  to  thenr. 


Kit<^ 


RECOLLECTIONS   OF   JAPAN. 


251 


the  principles  of  a  republic,  but  they  were  slow  to  com- 
prehend how  we  could  get  along  without  an  emperor. 
I  told  them  that  we  were  all  equal  and  free,  (though  it 
stuck  a  little  in  my  throat,)  that  the  rulers  were  the  ser- 
vants of  the  people,  who  were  the  sovereigns,  and  that 
all  of  them  obeyed  laws  of  their  own  choice.  These 
were  startling  assertions,  and  produced  skilful  cross 
questions,  forcing  me  to  admit  that,  in  the  republic,  at 
Boston  the  head  of  it,  at  Worcester  its  heart,  and  at 
Northampton  its  bark-bone,  a  rich  man  may  make  a 
poor  one,  his  serf,  his  slave,  and  his  captive.  Of  the 
poor,  tho  most  to  be  pitied  are  those  who  have  once 
been  rich,  and  their  numbers  have  of  late  frightfully  in- 
creased. They  must  always  have  out  paper  enough, 
(such  is  the  phrase)  for  a  rich  rogue  to  buy  up  at  a  dol- 
lar a  hundred,  and  thus  he  may  feed  his  prisoner  upon 
the  vapor  of  a  dungeon,  he  may  destroy  his  health,  and 
inflict  upon  him  moral  degradation;  he  may  crush  him 
where  he  is  most  sensitive,  in  his  honor,  his  family  and 
affections,  til4  death  removes  him  beyond  the  humane 
operation  of  the  laws. 

Thus  sir  have  I  told  you  all  that  I  know  of  Japan,  and 
something  more.  I  have  written  four  times  as  much  as 
I  intended,  and  yet  could  write  as  much  more,  but 
enough  has  been  done  to  entitle  me  to  reward,  and  I 
look  to  the  merchants  for  a  service  of  plate,  though  it 
should  be  pewter,  or  a  medal,  if  only  of  leather. 


'  ifi 


rrw^ 


■  PII.B.M^|H  I  Pll 


m^mmmmtmmmft^mmm 


■PR 


iiiiW 


I 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  CHINA. 


NO.  I. 


u 


•  I 


i 


Sir — ^Though  I  am  not  of  that  class  of  travellers, 
who,  (as  the  African  said)  '  take  big  walk,  make  big 
book,'  yet  something  I  have  seen  which  I  am  encourag- 
ed to  describe  by  your  praise  of  the  sketches  of  the 
Boston  Merchant,  whom  I  hold  in  slight  esteem;  for  he 
was  nothing  out  of  Italy,  and  not  much  there;  I  also 
have  been  there,  but  the  eternal  city,  iantum  vidi,  for 
what  could  I  investigate  in  three  days;  therefore  my 
recollections  of  Rome,  are  like  the  memory  of  a  dream 
or  like  a  lake  in  a  storm,  rellecting  only  broken  images 
of  grandeur.  . 

It  is  known  to  you  that  I  am  not  only  a  scholar,  but 
an  instructer;  for  the  village  school  has  been  so  long 
under  my  administration,  that  the  birch  I  planted  at  the 
corner  has  become  a  goodly  tree. 

When  I  was  a  young  man  (which  was  not  in  this 
century)  I  was  a  year  in  Canton,  though  as  I  was  gen- 
erally moored  in  the  river,  I  saw  less  of  the  land  than 
of  the  people,  and  shall  there  fore  not  so  much  describe 
China  aa    the    Chinese.      But    *  Recollections '    yea 


ll!i«IWWBPBWS!iiiWBP^»W?f!fWI?fF5^^ 


RECOLLECTIONS   OF   CHINA. 


253 


know,  Sir,  come  as  thpy  will,  and  not  as  the  reminiscent 
may  desire,  which  J  offer,  to  palliate  my  want  of  method, 
as  you  will  see  that  I  often  connect  things  together  by 
very  remote  resemblances. 

In  North  America  there  is  such  a  connexion  between 
the  sciences  and  arts,  that  it  would  excite  your  won- 
der to  see  in  China,  the  arts  so  high  and  the  sciences 
so  low;  yet  their  arts  are  at  a  stand,  and  have  not  for 
centuries   advanced.     The    Chinese    have    known   the 

« 

qualities  of  the  magnet,  the  invention  of  printing, 
and  of  gunpowder,  longer  than  the  Europeans,  yet  their 
compass  is  hut  a  blind  guide,  their  types  are  blocks  of 
wood,  and  their  matchlocks  are  as  perilous  at  the  breech 
as  af  the  muzzle. 

Their  g  eatest  monuments  ure  more  creditable  to 
their  industry  than  their  skill,  and  the  great  wall  was 
not  founded  on  the  reasoning  of  Romulus.  It  was  the 
labor  of  cowardice,  inviting  an  attack  because  display- 
ing fear.  Yet  it  is  a  greater  work  than  your  Mill  Dam, , 
for  it  runs  over  mountain  and  valley  as  far  as  from  Bos- 
ton to  iVew  Orleans;  'uut  it  is  shorter  than  the  grand 
canal  from  Canton  to  Pekin.  ./     ,  ' 

An  honest  man  soon  l)ecomes  suspicious  in  China, 
where  '•c  finds  enough  to  excite  sarcasm  and  misanthro- 
py. 1  he  Chinese  have  no  sincerity,  and  therefore  no 
confidence,  for  they  look  into  themselves  to  discover  the 
character  of  others.  'I  hey  believe  in  magic  but  not  in 
virtue,  for  they  buv  the  favor  of  wizards  and  distinist 
the  honesty  of  all  men. 

Their  govcriiuient  is  admirably  well  adapted  to  make 
them  hypocrites  and  knaves;  it  is  a  representative  d'?s- 
potism,  where  you  may  see  '  the  image  of  authority,* 
better  than  in  a  cuv  barking  at  a  beggar.  Every  func- 
tionary represents  in  his  circle  the  power  of  the  Empe- 
ror, and  his  lightest  way  of  enforcing  it  is  by  the  bamboo. 
2!2 


^r^mif^i^^mim^'^ 


mmmmmm^'mm'i^''fimm 


254 


RECOLLECTIOxNS    OF    CHINA. 


:! 


\m 

M? 

1 

lwi> 

! 

19 

1 

lH^I 

i 

1 B  'iH 

1 

m 

[ 

Servility  and  insolence  are  correlative,  and  you  will  no- 
where else  find  power  so  lordly  and  obedience  so  humble 
as  in  China. 

The  press  is  prolific,  but  such  is  the  system  of  review- 
ing that  I  should  think  it  mercy  to  fall  into  the  hands  of 
Mr  Walsh.  An  ill-starred  author  dared,  like  Webster, 
to  meddle  with  the  great  dictionary  of  the  nation,  and 
to  insert  the  liltley  or  fami'y  names  of  Emperor,  and  of 
Kong-fut-see.  The  critics  in  China,  have  high  juris- 
diction, and  adjudged  the  criminal  guilty  of  treason, 
when  it  was  only  murder  of  the  Emperor's  Chinese;  but 
he  was  sentenced  to  be  cut  in  pieces,  and  to  have  his 
children  put  to  death.  But  the  Emperor  was  clement, 
and  commuted  the  punishment  to  cutting  off  the  ofiTen- 
der's  head,  and  his  children  wore  reprieved  for  the  great 
autumnal  execution.  This  is  worse  than  it  is  with  us 
in  the  republic  of  letters,  where,  though  the  author  is 
sometimes  cut  up,  his  relatives  always  escape  the  knife. 

You  are  to  remember  that  in  China  the  only  noble 
family  by  inheritance,  is  that  of  Confucius,  or  Kong- 
fut-see;  he  has  been  dead  twenty  centuries,  but  those 
of  his  lineage  are  called  '  Nephews  of  the  Great  Man.' 

The  Chinese  all  smoke,  though  good  tobacco  is  too 
dear  to  be  used  unmixed;  it  is  blended  with  opium, 
which  it  is  penal  to  take,  yet  every  one  abuses  and  smokes 
it.  There  are  in  Canton  societies  for  the  suppression 
of  opium  eating;  the  viceroy  is  the  president,  and  he 
made  a  pathetic  appeal  to  his  constituents  to  give  up 
BO  perilous  a  practice,  though  he  takes  his  own  opium 
as  regularly  as  a  Virginian  his  julep. 

The  Chinese  are  free  from  some  prejudices,  touching 
food,  that  yet  exist  in  other  countries;  the  beef  of  the 
horse  is  preferred  to  that  of  the  cow,  and  their  game  is 
what  we  call  vermin;  rats  are  fattened  for  epicures  and 


^HWHU^B^i^ 


^ 


RECOLLECTIONS   OF   CHINA. 


255 


u  will  no- 
o  humble 

>f  review- 
hands  of 
Webster, 
it  ion,  and 
3r,  and  of 
igh  juris- 
f  treason, 
nese;  but 
have  his 
clement, 
the  ofTen- 
the  great 
is  with  us 
author  is 
the  knife, 
nly  noble 
or  Kong- 
but  those 
sat  Man.' 
ceo  is  too 
h  opium, 
id  smokes 
ppression 
it,  and  he 
give  up 
wu  opium 

touching 
ef  of  the 
r  game  is 
3ures  and 


a  pheasant  is  sold  at  the  same  price  with  a  cat.  Pork, 
however,  is  the  general  meat,  and  the  hams  are  excel- 
lent; but  in  this  country  of  the  imitative  arts,  ham  is 
counterfeited,  and  many  a  foreigner  has  bought  a  gam- 
mon from  which  he  could  slice  nothing  but  chips;  nut- 
megs, however,  are  so  cheap  that  they  are  seldom  imi- 
tated. 

Beef  is  a  prohibited  meat,  but  1  cannot  now  tell 
wherefore  it  is  not  free;  when  sold  in  the  streets,  it  is 
hawked  as  mutton,  though  the  purchaser  knows  what 
he  buys.  It  is  only  change  of  name  and  no  one  is  de- 
ceived any  more  than  in  dining  on  a  rabbit  in  Spain, 
where  a  coney  is  always  a  cat. 

The  dog  butchers  have  a  brisk  trade,  but  when  they 
stir  abroal  the  whole  canine  commonwealth  barks  at 
their  heels,  and  when  one  of  their  fraternity  is  dragged 
to  the  shambles,  the  others  attempt  a  rescue.  A  pup 
of  six  weeks  makes  a  delicate  roast,  and  has  a  peculiar 
flavor,  something  between  the  taste  of  a  kid  and  of  an 
opossum.  At  first,  my  regard  for  poor  Tray  at  home, 
rendered  me  indifferent  to  such  dainties,  but  I  soon 
overcome  this  prejudice  by  reflecting  that  I  must  have 
eaten  dog  sausages  from  the  Boston  market.  In  Ame- 
rica, venerable  prejudices  stand  between  our  teeth  and 
excellent  food — for,  with  us,  who  eats  shark's  fins,  bear's 
claws  smoked,  or  bird's  nests  boiled. 

In  the  way  of  food,  nothing  comes  amiss  to  a  Chinese, 
for  his  appetite  is  as  accommodating  as  a  Hottentot's. 
A  Frenchman  keeps  a  rabbit  till  it  has  acquired  aflavoTf 
and  a  Chinese  does  i.ot  scorn  to  eat  pig  or  poultry 
that  has  floated  for  weeks  in  the  river. 

But  JiC  f^ceat  aricle  of  food  is  rice,  which  is  boiled, 
and  eit  )  with  a  chop-stick  and  porcelain  spoon.  In 
rice  Co  .ntries,  the  four  pronged  fork  would  be  more 


mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm 


256 


RECOLLECTIONS   OF   CHINA. 


II 


useful  than  with  us,  for  we  use  it  from  affectation,  and 
to  imitate  the  French.  French  cooks  delight  in  cut 
and  compound  dishes,  without  joint  or  substance,  wherein 
this  fork  is  an  excellent  feeder;  but  the  Turk  and  Per- 
sian eat  in  the  primitive,  justifying  the  proverb,  that 
settles  the  relative  antiquity  of  forks  and  fingers. 

The  Chinese  have  a  compound  countenance  *  nose 
of  Turk,  and  Tartar's  lips.'  Yet,  although  the  Tartar 
race  holds  the  empire  of  China,  it  has  failed  to  dissemi- 
nate its  own  unmixed  features.  China  was  conquered 
by  that  warlike  people,  and  as  the  brave  always  find 
favor  with  the  fair,  the  Chinese  ladies  were  courted  af- 
ter the  manner  of  the  Sabine.  The  annals  relate  that 
in  those  days  of  glory  and  profusion,  two  dollars  would 
buy  a  wife,  and  a  sack  to  carry  her  in;  so  that  rating 
the  lady  as  nothing,  the  purchaser  paid  but  double  for 
his  bag. 

The  Chinese  take  great  delight  in  what  they  call  mu- 
sic, though  they  are  little  pleased  with  the  strains  of  the 
£olian  harp.  But  they  have  the  tom-tom  or  the  gong, 
producing  an  indescribable  combination  of  horrid  sounds. 
Their  music  is  prized  according  to  its  loudness;  I  can 
hardly  give  you  a  conception  of  it  from  description,  but 
I  could  select  performers  that  would  make  music  like  a 
Chinese  band,  viz.,  ten  jackasses  braying,  five  brazier'a 
pounding  on  the  copper  boiler  of  a  steam  boat,  thirty 
bag-pipers,  and  a  sexton  to  pull  a  cracked  bell. 

But  there  is  in  every  man's  mind  something  that  re- 
sponds to  the  touch  of  his  national  music,  be  it  bagpipo 
or  banjo,  and  a  national  tune  is  a  compression  into  the 
smallest  compass,  of  everything  that  binds  us  to  our 
country,  as  the  legends  of  the  nursery,  ahd  the  songs 
of  the  festival.  I  have  heard  a  Dundee  sailor  in  a 
moonlight  calm  off  Java  head,  when  the  air  was  filled 
with  the  odour  of  flowers,  sing  '  Should  auld  acquaint- 


RECOLLECTIONS   OF    CHINA. 


267 


tion,  and 
lit  in  cut 
,  wherein 
and  Per- 
erb,  that 
igers. 
ice  *  nose 
he  Tartar 
}  dissemi- 
:onquercd 
ways  find 
ourted  af- 
elate  that 
&rs  would 
iiat  rating 
ioubie  for 

Y  call  mu- 
lins  of  the 
the  gong, 
id  sounds. 
ss;  I  can 
ption,  but 
iisic  like  a 

brazier'a 
)at,  thirty 
1. 

ig  that  rc- 
it  bagpipe 
1  into  the 
us  to  our 
the  songs 
3iilor  in  a 
was  filled 

acquaint- 


ance  be  forgot,'  in  such  a  manner  as  to  draw  the  crews 
of  the  whole  fleet  on  deck,  and  their  souls  out  of  their 
bodies;  but  when  the  same  sailor  sung  another  song, 
without  national  interest,  no  one  cared  to  listen. 

The  tragic  muse,  has  not  in  China,  a  very  reputable 
train  of  votaiies;  the  companies  of  actors  have  but  five 
or  six  persons,  so  that  one  man  '  plays  many  parts,'  and 
boys  perform  the  characters  of  females.  They  are,  of 
course,  strollers,  that  strut  and  fret  their  little  hour,  in 
any  coign  of  vantage  or  tap-room  corner,  where  they 
can  hang  a  curtain.  Centuries  are  embraced  in  the 
time  of  one  play — and  the  same  liberal  arrangement  is 
made  with  regard  to  space.  They  have  some  shifts 
equal  to  Bottom's  moonshine  and  wall;  if  a  char- 
acter is  supposed  to  take  a  journey,  he  runs  round 
the  stage  cracking  his  whip,  and  stops  when  the  specta- 
tors may  imagine  him  arrived. 

These  strollers  are  but  one  class  of  vagabonds,  for 
China  is  half  peopled  with  what  the  statute  calls  '  rogues 
found  loitering,'  '  valiant  beggars,'  fire  eaters,  bonzes, 
and  jugglers.  The  jugglers  perform  surprising  feats, 
which  I  am  inclined  to  inscribe  to  diabolical  aid;  they 
will  plant  you  a  mango  twig  in  the  ground,  moisten  it 
with  blood,  and  in  a  few  minutes,  under  their  incanta- 
tions the  twig  becomes  a  tree,  covered  with  flowers  or 
bending  with  fruit.  I  have  not  seen  such  rapid  vegeta- 
tion even  in  Ohio.  Their  feats  of  balancing  seem  to 
defy  the  principle  of  gravitation;  I  should  suppose  that 
a  bird  could  hardly  perch  where  I  have  seen  a  dance. 
Another  of  their  performances  is  to  have  a  ribbon  a 
hundred  feet  long  attached  like  a  lash  to  a  twelve  inch 
rod,  which  they  so  whisk  about  that  the  ribbon  is  never 
tangled,  and  yet  is  always  in  the  air;  so  perfectly  can 
they  do  this,  that  while  the  lash  is  floating  in  the  air,  it 
describes  many  fanciful  and  regular  figures. 
22* 


mmm 


S58 


RECOLLECTIONS   OV   CHINA 


The  mountebanks  of  the  east  are  renf.wnsd  for  their 
skill  in  poising.  They  will  spin  round  plates  oa  their 
fingers  or  on  sticks,  as  if  they  were  wheels  with  axles. 
1  have  seen  one  of  these  magi,  fasten  three  sticks  aa 
pivots  to  each  boot,  and  then  on  six  other  sticks  ho 
would  spin  like  whirligigs  as  many  pl.ites,  which,  while 
spinning,  he  transferred  to  the  sticks  in  his  boots,  whero 
they  continued  still  to  spin.  The  operator  then  set  in 
motion  three  other  plates  in  his  hand,  so  that  he  had 
nine  goftig  at  once.  Puppet  shows  are  more  common 
at  Canton  than  at  Maples,  hut  Punch  has  more  wit  in 
Italy.  The  puppets  in  China  are  under  the  inspection 
of  the  police,  which  is  vigilant  lest  they  utter  anything 
against  the  paternal  government.  At  Rome  they  havo 
more  freedom,  and  form  the  only  means  by  which  a 
satire  may  be  aimed  at  the  rulers,  or  follies  of  the  great. 
Puppets  in  China  are  the  amusement  of  all  classes,  and 
indicate  the  refinement  of  the  public  taste. 

The  dress  of  some  of  the  countrymen  about  Canton, 
is  principally  a  cloak  of  rice  straw,  so  that  the  peasant 
v^'alks  about  under  a  thatched  roof  They  sleep  upon 
mats,  and  the  people  generally  have  no  better  beds. 

The  Chinese  children  have  a  great  reverence  for  the 
schoolmaster,  and  seldom  incui"  his  displeasure.  Tho 
booksellers  have  a  vast  variety  of  books  for  juvenilo 
scholars,  who,  in  a  language  so  intricate  and  volumin- 
ous, receive  every  possible  aid.  If  you  have  never  ar- 
rived at  the  distinction  of  keeping  a  school,  you  can 
hardly  estimate  the  public  gratitude  that  should  follow 
those  who  simplify  the  process  of  education.  I  would 
acknowledge  a  pedagogue's  delt  to  the  compiler  of  th© 
National  Reader,  which  I  once  heard  called  a  national 
bulwark.  Some  grave  and  wise  man  rated  the  influence 
of  the  ballads  in  a  language  above  that  of  tha  laws) 
but,  Sir,  the  school-books  have  a  greater  agency  than 
either,  in  forming  character. 


RECOLLECTIOXS   OF   CHINA. 


259 


for  their 

on  their 
th  axles. 

sticks  aa 
sticks  ho 
ch,  while 
its,  whero 
en  set  in 
it  he  had 

coiiiinon 
ore  wit  ia 
nspection 

anything 
they  have 

which  a 
the  great. 
assesj  and 

Canton, 

e  peasant 

eep  upon 

beds. 

ce  for  tho 

re.     Tho 

juveniloi 

volumin- 

never  ar- 

you  can 

Id  follow 

I  would 

er  of  tha 

1  national! 

influence 

tha  lavvs{ 

;ncy  than 


It  is  a  sight  to  make  my  green  spectacles  glisten  to 
look  at  the  shelves  of  Munroe  and  Francis.  They 
have  changed  the  whole  system  of  juvenile  reading; 
Blue  Beard  and  Tom  Thumb,  have  abdicated  their 
high  places  in  favor  of  better  people,  and  a  child,  while 
he  seeks  only  amusement,  may  now  learn  history  and 
the  sciences,  and  avoid  the  silly  tales  that  composed  my 
own  early  library,  and  which  haunt  the  memory  for  evil, 
like  stories  of  ghosts  and  spectres.  If  the  children  of 
the  commonwealth  were  to  erect  a  monument  to  their 
greatest  benefactors,  you  would  find  it  inscribed  to  our 
friends  at  the  corner  of  Water  street;  this  may  seem  a 
strong  assertion,  but  every  schoolmaster  or  parent,  that 
educates  his  own  children,  knows  it  to  be  but  faint 
praise.  You,  I  think,  deserve  well  of  your  country, 
being  the  father  of  eight  sons;  when  the  season  of 
Christmas  presents  comes,  let  them  not  make  a  profitless 
investment  of  half  a  dollar  in  a  whistle,  or  statues  of 
men  and  horses  in  sugar,  but  purchase  a  book,  that  if 
they  read  but  once  and  throw  it  by,  will  yet  leave  a 
lasting  impression  on  their  minds.  This  is  my  course 
with  the  young  Doolittles,  who  have  already  a  miniature 
library  of  fifty  volumes,  and  whose  greatest  treat  it  is 
to  visit  the  bookstore  of  the  publishers. 

ERASMUS  DOOLITTLE. 


NO.  II. 

Sir — The  first  impulse  of  an  American,  when  he  seesr 
for  the  first  time  a  Chinese,  is  to  laugh  at  him.  His 
dress,  if  judged  by  our  standard,  is  ridiculous,  and  in  a 
Mandarin,  a  stately  gravity  sets  it  off  for  double  derision. 


^1 


i  ( 


II 


hi 


260 


RECOLLETTIONS   OF    CHIPTA. 


His  trowsers  are  a  couple  of  meal  bags,  reaching  just 
below  the  knee,  his  shoes  arc  huge  mnchines,  turned  up 
at  the  toe,  his  cap  is  fantastic,  and  his  head  is  shaven 
except  on  the  crown,  whence  ther^  hangs  down  a  tuft  of 
hair  as  long  as  a  spaniel's  tail.  This  appendage  is  one 
of  honor,  and  cherished  with  care;  for  a  long  streamer 
at  Canton  is  as  much  a  distinction  as  a  beard  that  covers 
the  girdle  at  Ispahan.  As  the  Emperor  of  Persia  haa 
the  best  beard  in  his  dominions,  so  he  of  China  has  the 
longest  tail,  and  no  Mandarin  presumes  to  rival,  by  half 
an  ell,  that  of  the  Emperor. 

When  I  was  at  Canton,  the  Majesty  of  China  was  a 
younger  son  of  old  Kien  Long,  so  well  known  at  the 
time  of  the  embassies.  Kien  Long  had  rather  more  than 
common  sense,  which,  for  an  Emjv  or,  was  prodigious; 
like  old  King  Cole,  he  had  a  fondness  for  the  bowl,  and 
actually  composed  an  ode  on  Tea;  but  like  you  and  me 
he  had  his  failings,  though  he  was  as  good  a  man  as  some 
who  think  themselves  better.  Like  the  monarch  of 
Britain,  he  could  not  rfesist  '  the  light  of  a  dark  eye  in 
woman;'  he  therefore  had  some  domestic  troubles,  for  his 
Empress  hung  herself  for  jealousy,  and  his  son  died  of  an 
imperial  kick,  for  wearing  mourning  for  his  mother. 
But  Kien  Long  was  as  good  as  other  kings,  and  abdi- 
cated in  favor  of  his  fifteenth  son,  after  which  his  life  was 
short,  for  a  deposed  or  abdicating  prince  seldom  survives 
his  power.  The  Emperor  of  China,  like  Augustus, 
covers  his  power  with  specious  names;  his  government 
is  supposed  to  be  paternal,  and,  like  Charles  II,  he  is 
called  the  father  of  his  people.  He  is  also  called  the 
father,  and  sometimes  the  mother,  of  his  country,  which 
is  as  bold  a  figure  as  '  Father  of  Chemistry,  and  Brother 
of  the  Earl  of  Cork.'  He  is  accountable  for  his  actions 
to  no  created  being,  and  his  paternal  relation  gives  him 
the  right  of  chastisement.     He  inflicts  death  for  disobe- 


RECOLLECTIONS    OF    CHIXA. 


261 


ing  just 
irncdup 

shaven 
a  tuft  of 
3  is  one 
treamer 
t  covers 
rsia  has 

has  the 
,  by  half 

a  was  a 
1  at  the 
ore  than 
digious; 
owl,  and 
I  and  me 
I  as  some 
(larch  of 
i  eye  in 
s,  for  his 
led  of  an 
mother, 
id  abdi- 
life  was 
survives 
ugustus, 
ernment 
I,  he  is 
tiled  the 
y,  which 
Brother 
i  actions 
ves  hin» 
r  disobe- 


dience, and  minor  penalticH  for  less  enormous  crimes; 
China  is  his  farm,  and  his  subjects  are  tenants  by  sufTer- 
ance,  paying  rents  in  kind.  On  the  north  his  farm  ia 
ftnclost'd  by  a  tone  wall,  and,  as  Johnson  said,  it  is  an 
honorable  distinction  to  be  grandson  to  a  man  who  has 
seen  that  wall.  In  so  large  a  family  as  the  Chinese 
Empire,  the  brethren  sometimes  fall  out,  but  this  hap- 
pens in  smaller  circles,  further  west. 

The  great  man,  once  in  the  year,  condescends  to  turn 
a  furrow  with  his  own  hand.  This  is  at  the  Feast  of 
Agriculture,  a  kind  of  cattle  show,  held  in  the  spring. 
The  Emperor  is,  however,  as  much  above  the  Mandu- 
rins,  as  tiiey  are  elevated  above  the  rest  of  the  people. 
They  speak  to  him  on  their  knees,  prostrate  themselves 
nine  times  before  him,  and  kneel  to  his  chair  and  his 
robes.  IVIen  are  said  to  be  under  the  government  of  the 
cudgel  in  Russia;  in  China,  they  are  governed  by  the 
bamboo.  Blows  are  too  common  to  be  disgraceful,  and 
are  a  sort  of  penalty  that  all  the  subjects  may  suffer. 
The  bamboo  offers  a  very  simple  method  of  obtaining 
evidence,  for  if  a  witness  fails  to  testify  as  he  is  desired,  the 
testimony  is  flogged  out  of  him;  while  in  our  courts,  he  is 
only  scrfAved.  The  blows  make  him  conformable,  but 
when  the  witness  is  flogged,  the  accused  is  in  danger. 

The  lesser  punishments  are  inflicted  under  the  inspec- 
tion of  the  judge,  which  is,  no  doubt,  gratifying,  when 
the  judge  is  the  complainant.  The  culprit  sometimes 
procures  a  substitute,  which  may  be  had  for  a  round 
sum,  except  in  capital  cases;  the  executioner,  too,  is 
willing  to  deal  at  fair  prices,  and  for  a  moderate  com- 
pensation, he  will  strike  lightly,  and  somewhat  aside. 
This,  however,  is  a  great  risk  to  run  for  benevolence, 
for  if  detected,  he  would  suffer  twice  what  he  remits,  in 
^  his  own  person. 


■■ 


262 


RECOLLECTIONS    OF    CHINA. 


Justice,  soch  as  it  is,  is  administered  grntis  in  China; 
and  it  is  some  comfort  to  the  Clunese,  among  all  their 
grievDPces,  that  they  are  free  from  lawyers.  No  offence 
is  punished  with  less  than  five  lashes,  and  fifty  are  often 
given.  The  manner  of  flogging  is  this:  the  great  man 
has  three  attendants,  the  culprit  is  prostrate  on  his  belly, 
one  attendant  sits  astride  on  his  shoulder  to  heep  hinn 
down,  another  draws  his  Icj^ja  out  by  a  cord  around  his 
heels,  and  a  third  applies  the  bamboo.  The  sufferer 
hoards  no  malice,  but  retires  like  one  of  my  scholars  after 
*  correction,'  with  increased  veneration  for  his  master. 

There  i!^  an  instrument  in  comm  )n  use,  in  the  naturo 
of  a  moveable  pillory,  but  I  have  f()rgotten  the  name; 
though  if  1  had  worn  it,  I  might  have  remembered  it 
longer.  It  is  a  wide  board  like  a  table,  opening  to  en- 
clo.se  the  neck,  and  on  this  is  inscribed  the  ofl^'nder'a 
demerits,  for  the  amusement  of  passengers.  Like  F'al- 
staff,  he  cannot  see  his  own  knees,  nor  can  he  put  hi* 
hand  to  his  mouth;  for  in  compass,  this  poke  is  equal  to 
the  ruflf  in  the  time  of  Queen  Klizabcth;  he  is  fed  by 
some  compassionate  and  congenial  soul,  whose  own 
manner  of  life  gives  a  prospective  chance  that  he  may 
require,  in  time,  the  same  good  office. 

A  Chinese  soldier  has  little  resemblance  to  Mars, 
He  is  encumbered  with  heavy  arms,  the  most  effective 
of  which,  at  a  distance,  is  the  bow  and  arrow;  for  his 
matchlock  is  sd  clumsy,  that  when  discharged,  it  requires 
an  iron  rest.  The  soldiers  have  among  their  equipments 
umbrellas,  and  fans,  and  smelling  bottles  for  canteens; 
they  are  sometimes  dressed  in  stripes,  like  a  tiger,  and 
have  two  horns  on  the  head  piece,  which,  with  a  hideous 
face  carved  on  the  shield,  is  enough  to  alarm  a  child 
who  sees  it  for  the  first  time.  Their  system  of  war  is 
the  defensive,  and  they  feel  less  security  in  a  field  than 
in  a  garrison.  ' 


^t,^' 


RECOLLECTIONS    OF    CHINA. 


263 


But  this  would  be  no  dispfirai;emciit,  if  they  would  /i^/t/ 
behind  an  entrenchment;  the  best  ofour  own  butties  havo 
been  won  in  breastworks,  und  it  is  no  disgrace  to  any 
General  to  cover  with  the  ennniy'd  bodies  the  grcund 
before  his  line  of  cotton  bajjs. 

The  Chiii'.ise,  if  they  do  not  rntjch  reflect  upon  a  fu- 
ture state,  have  yet  a  great  desire  to  be  buried  in  « 
good  coflliii;  and  in  some,  this  amounts  to  such  a  pas- 
sion, that  their  life  passes,  like  a  silk  worm^s,  in  the  pre- 
paration of  something  fine  to  cover  themselves  when 
they  are  dead.  They  have  also  a  careful  eye  to  the  cof- 
fin of  a  friend,  and  a  son  wiji  sell  hitnseK  to  slavery  to 
buy  a  good  one  for  his  father;  whom  perhaps  he  neg- 
lected while  alive,  as  in  western  C(juntries  we  raise  mon- 
uments to  genius,  when  it  is  dead,  that  we  suTered  to 
languish  in  want  while  it  lived.  Where  the  coffin  is 
splendid,  the  funeral  is,  of  course,  magnificent;  and  if  a 
family  is  unable  to  bury  its  dead  in  a  suitable,  that  is,  in 
a  sumptuous  manner,  the  bodies  arc  kept  sealed  end 
glazed  in  tiie  coffin,  until  more  favorable  times,  it  may 
be  for  twenty  years. 

In  a  country  where  death  is  so  much  honored,  there 
must  be  a  code  of  funeral  ceremonies.  'I'he  first  part  of 
a  funeral  is  somewhat  like  an  Irish  burial,  and  consists 
in  howling,  in  whiih  all  the  mourners  and  friends  are 
expected  to  bear  a  part;  and  after  a  few  howls,  come  re- 
freshments and  tea.  The  funeral  procession  is  led  oy 
music,  and  has  banners,  streamers,  and  images.  The 
eldest  son  walks  with  a  stick,  as  if  to  intimate  that  he  is 
overcome  with  grief.  The  suits  of  mourning  are  worn 
twentyseven  months,  and  the  time  was  formerly  longer. 
Their  dead  are  buried  in  places  that  do  more  credit  to 
the  living  than  our  sombre  grave  yards;  it  is  an  amiable 
weakness  in  the  survivors,  to  suppose  that  their  deceased 
friends  may  be  gratified  with  a  tomb  in  a  pleasant  spot— 


■  I 


■  ^^^..-A..^..**.!— ^.* 


264 


■>IEC0LLECTI0XS    OF    CHINA. 


some  airy  hill,  shaded  with  trees,  where  they  themselves 
may  linger  to  muse  and  commune  in  spirit  with  the  de- 
parted. When  u  friend  is  dead,  it  strikes  upon  our 
hearts  to  remember  how  we  misprized  him,  and  how  ill 
we  requited  his  kindness;  we  forget  his  failings  before 

^  we  have  covered  him  with  earth,  and  remember  only 
what  is  amiable.  We  recall  the  thousand  times  that  he 
preferred  our  happiness  to  his  own,  and  our  harsh  re- 
turn for  what  was  so  kindly  meant;  and  though  he  is 
beyond  the  reach  of  our  vain  regret  and  late  remorse, 
it  is  some  relief  to  a  wounded  spirit,  to  lay  him  in  a 
shaded  spot,  and  '  manibus  plenis  '  to  scatter  flowers  upon 
his  grave.  Excuse  me  for  this  digression,  but  I  feel 
what  I  write;  I  am  myself  lacerated  by  this  vain  regret, 
and  late  remorse,  and  would  give  ten  years  of  life  that  I 
might  recall  from  death,  for  a  single  day,  a  friend  who 
never  knew  how  much  I  loved  him,  if  he  judged  me  with 
half  the  severity  with  which  I  now  condemn  myself. 
He  lies  in  the  deep  sea,  where  flowers  cannot  be  scat- 
tered or  inscriptions  graven,  and  I  have  no  monument 
for  him  but  these  lines  of  self-reproach,  that  I  have  writ- 
ten in  sorrow,  and  you  will  read  with  indifference. 

,^  On  the  death  of  the  Emperor's  mother,  there  was  an 
edict,  bearing  heavily  upon  the  barbers,  that,  for  a  hun- 
dred days,  no  one  should  be  shaved,  and  another  that 
fell  like  a  bolt  upon  lovers,  that  none  should  be  married. 
One  of  the  missionaries  remarked,  that  it  was  wonder- 
ful, during  the  one  hundred  daysof  mourning,  to  see  the 
decorum  of  the  people;  in  the  streets,  they  conversed 
but  in  whispers,  for  the  whole  term  there  was  no 
wrangling  or  altercation,  and  a  decent  gravity  was  upon 
every  face,  as  if  all  sympathized  witii  tijc  aflliction  of  the 
Emperor.  I'he  ceremonial  of  the  funeral  was  described 
in  twentyfour  volumes,  and  the  apartment,  where  the 
body  lay  in  state,  was  called  the  Hall  of  Nine  Prayers 


\ 


RECOLLECTIONS    OP    CHINA. 


265 


emselves 
1  the  (le- 
ipon  our 
(1  how  ill 
rs  before 
iber  only 
)s  that  he 
liarsh  rc- 
jgh  he  is 
remorse, 
him  in  a 
vers  upon 
ut  I  feel 
lin  regret, 
life  that  i 
iend  who 
id  me  with 
1  myself, 
be  scat- 
nonument 
lave  writ- 
nce. 

e  was  an 
for  a  hun- 
)ther  that 
3  married, 
i  wonder- 
to  see  the 
I'-onvorsed 
was    no 
was  upon 
ion  of  the 
described 
vhere  the 
e  Prayers 


and  Three  Great  Affairs.  The  Hall  of  Ancestors  is  a 
large  apartment,  common  to  all  of  the  same  family;  and 
there  they  meet  at  certain  seasons,  without  distinction  of 
rank,  except  that  the  oldest  take  precedence.  The 
names  of  the  dead  are  recorded  upon  the  wall,  with  the 
usual  lapidary  allowance  of  virtues.  The  congregation 
sometimes  amounts  to  ten  thousand,  who  are  fed  at  the 
expense  of  the  richest  in  the  family;  it  is  a  good  cus- 
tom, and  if  it  were  introduced  here,  fev  ;  r  of  us  would 
forget  poor  uncles  and  cousins.  Why,  Sir,  upon  my  ve- 
racity, I  myself  know  a  man  who  denied  his  own  grand- 
father. 

There  is  another  good  festival  of  tke  Chinese,  held  in 
April,  when  they  go  to  the  tombs  of  their  ancestors  and 
eradicate  the  weeds  that  have  sprung  up  around  them. 

This  reverence  for  the  dead  is  a  consequence  of  the 
peculiar  state  of  the  paternal  relation  in  China.  If  filial 
piety  in  China,  is  less  a  feeling  than  a  political  institu- 
tion; still,  it  is  inculcated  so  early,  and  enforced  by  such 
penalties,  that  there  are  few  undutiful  sons,  and  when 
a  child  feels  the  irksomeness  of  the  yoke,  he  comforts 
himself  with  the  thought,  thit  he  shall  hereafter  have 
to  himself  the  same  deference. 

The  obedience  of  a  child  to  his  father  is  absolute  and 
unconditional,  and  if  it  be  morally  possible,  the  father 
has  the  civil  right  to  inflict  the  punishment  of  death. 
Monuments  have  been  erected  to  children  who  have 
distinguished  themselves  by  filial  tenderness  and  respect, 
and  half  the  books  in  China,  are  but  records  of  Huch 
dutiful  actions.  Children  are  under  the  same  useful 
restraint  that  I  have  imposed  upon  my  scholars;  a  p  >n 
must  ask  his  father's  permission  to  go  out,  and  sai«ii#; 
him  on  his  return;  and  to  whatever  the  father  enjoin«, 
the  son  can  make  but  three  remonstrances — but  this  is 
a  greater  latitude  than  I  myself  allow.     To  speak  disre- 


« 


IWl 


I 


m 


266 


RECOLLECTIONS   OF    CHINA. 


■•V 


I !  I 


spectfully  of  a  parent,  or  grandparent,  is  death  by  stran- 
gling, and  to  strike  them,  is  death  by  beheading. 

By  a  poli<ical  fiction,  the  Emperor  assumes  that  he 
is  the  father  of  his  subjects,  and  exerts  in  his  pohtical 
capacity,  all  that  is  conceded  to  the  paternal  relation. 
This  is  a  lever  of  immense  power,  and  though  he  abuses 
the  paternal  relation,  the  filial  is  seldom  interrupted. 

Your  own  calling,  Mr  Editor,  is  neither  safe  nor 
common  in  China;  for  there  are  a  great  many  constructive 
offences  in  publications,  and  to  write  anything  remotely 
against  the  government,    is  death    to  the   editor,   the 
printer,  the  paper  maker,  and  the  carrier.      What  a 
massacre  there  w^ould  be,  if  such  a  law  were  to  be  exe- 
cuted  tomorrow,  in  Boston.       The  only  independent 
editor  in  China,  is  the  Emperor,  who  superintends  the 
Pekin  Gazette,  a  '  respectable  Daily.'     The  articles  are 
in  the  usual  imperial  style,  and  as  true  as  the  bulletins 
of  a  defeated  general.     The  Almanac  is  also  a  court 
publication,  filled  with  astrology  and   predictions,  and 
enjoins  industry  to  the  people,  that  they  may  fill  the  gra- 
naries of thoir  father  the   Emperor.     Kien   long,  who 
was  something  of  a  pedant,  ordered  a  pocket  edition  of 
the  best  authors,  but  the  publication  was  dropped  before 
it  reached  the  hundred  and  seventy  thousandth  volume. 
Literature  is  the  only   read  to   preferment   in   China, 
though  it  takes  a  contrary  direction  with  us,  where  igno- 
ranee  oflen  has  the  advantage. 

I  think  you  are  fond  of  an  eel  pie;  what  think  you  of 
a  viper  broth?  It  is  very  palatable  and  nourishing,  but 
rather  inflammatory.  The  viper  sellers  go  about  with  a 
bamboo  over  the  shoulder,  from  which  is  dependant  two 
^  essels,  one  holding  the  broth,  and  the  other  the  reptiles 
alive.  V'ou  rnay  see  snakes  exposed  for  sale  in  China, 
its  oflen  as  a  codfish  in  Boston,  and  on  the  lid  of  ihe 


RECOLLECTIONS    OF    CHINA. 


267 


!)y  straij- 

that  he 

political 
relation, 
e  abuses 
ipted. 
safe  nor 
structive 
remotely 
itor,   the 

What  a 
3  be  exe- 
ependent 
ends  the 
tides  are 
bulletins 
»  a  court 
ions,  and 
1  the  gra- 
g,  who 
edition  of 
ed  before 
1  volume, 
n   China, 

ere  igno> 


vessel  is  written  the  contents  with  (as  on  all  sign  boards) 
the  words  '  no  cheating  here,'  though  this  denial  of  what 
is  not  charged,  looks  less  like  innocence  than  guilt. 
These  snake-butchers  are  very  expert  in  their  calling; 
when  they  find  an  adder  asleep,  they  seize  him  by  the 
back  of  the  head,  and  with  a  pair  of  tweezers  take  out 
his  fangs,  before  he  is  fairly  awake. 

The  Chinese  calendar  has  prognostications  of  weather, 
and  points  out  the  lucky  and  disastrous  days  for  serious 
enterprises,  such  as  marriages  and  lotteries,  for  the  peo- 
ple have  a  great  reverence  for  the  stars,  which  they 
think  regulate  the  events  of  the  world.  They  divide  the 
zodiac  into  twelve  signs — the  Mouse,  the  Cow,  the 
Tiger,  the  Hare,  the  Dragon,  the  Serpent,  the  Horse, 
the  Sheep,  the  Monkey,  the  Hen,  the  Dog,  and  the 
Bear. 

I  would  have  sent  a  longer  letter,  but  for  the  visit  of 
an  uninvited  guest.  Whai  is  your  method  with  such? 
I  once  had  a  neighbour  who  called  upon  me  daily — I 
heated  my  stove  red  hot,  and  tried  to  burn  him  out,  but 
he  stood  fire  like  a  salamander;  next,  I  essayed  smoke, 
which  he  bore  lilie  a  badger;  at  last,  I  lent  him  five  dol- 
lars, and  have  not  seen  him  since. 


1, 


'1 


!»   } 


I 


III 


nk  you  of 
ihing,  but 
out  with  a 
id  ant  two 
e  reptiles 
in  China, 
id  of  ihe 


^O.  HI 

Sir — Some  of  the  penances  that  the  bonzes  in  China 
inflict  upon  themselves,  are  as  strange  and  wild  as  our 
own  fancies  under  the  incubus.  They  do  not,  from  a 
spirit  of  devotion,  run  into  the  torturing  self-sacrifices 
of  the  Hindoos,  but  seem  willing  to  save  both  soul  and 


'itmistitasx^^m 


tHI 


m 


\\': 


m 


'  i,'. 


ill 


268 


RECOLLECTIONS    OF   CHINA. 


body,  or  rather  to  make  use  of  the  means  of  saving  the 
soul  for  the  support  of  the  body.    Hence,  a  devotee,  who 
has  imposed  it  upon  himself  to  wear  a  heavy  chain  about 
his  neck,  asks  charity  of  the  devout,  who  sacrifice  less  to 
religion.     I  have  seen  a  short  fat  bonze,  saddled  and  bri- 
dled to  crawl  on  all-fours,  thirty  leagues,  and  as  his  tuft  of 
hair  was  conducted  under  the  saddle  and  hung  down  by 
the  crupper,  he  made  a  tolexable  representation  of  an 
ass.     He  thought  it  needful  to  the  success  of  his  plan 
to  go  through  the  usual  motions  of  a  donkey,  and  he 
would  curvet,  kick  and  bray  with  surprising  fidelity.  It 
would  have  delighted  Monboddo  to  see  that  bonze. 

The  city  of  Canton  lies  so  low,  that  from  no  point,  to 
which   foreigners  can  penetrate,  is  there  an  extensive 
view  of  it.     The  river  is  wide  above  the  Boca  Tigre, 
and  the  water  swarms  with  boats  of  every  size.     There 
may  be  about  twenty  of  these  immense  junks  of  twelve 
hundred  tons,  but  there  are  countless  fleets  of  boats  of 
fifty  tons;  families  occupy  them,  whose  home  is  on  'iie 
water,  and  who,  in  half  a  life,  have  seldom  slept  on  *r- 
rafirma.     There  is  a  long  oar,   at  the  stern,  moveable 
on  a  pin,  and  the  boat  is  skulled  by  four  or  five  sailors. 
The  oar  strikes  the  water  like  a  fish's  tail.     The  streets 
are  filled  with  people,  and,  when  seen  for  the  first  time, 
it  is  a  ludicrous  sight  to  see  so  many  close-shaven  heads 
without  covering;  you  look  down  upon  them  as  on  the 
closely-packed   audience   at  a  theatre.     I  have  some- 
times seen  one  Chinese  running  away  from  another,  and 
it  was  too  much  to  see  with  gravity,  for  their  tails  were 
streaming  out  horizontally  a  yard  and  a  half 

Where  the  head  is  shaven,  the  barbers  hcwe  a  double 

advantage,  for  a  Chinese  i,.    *^man  must  keep  his  head 

'  very  smooth,  though  the  common  people  hardly  shave 

once  in  a  week.     The   heads,   in  a  crowd  look   like   a 

collection  of  large  turnips  and  offer  excellent  specimens 


saving  the 
t^otee,  who 
bain  about 
ficelessto 
ed  and  bri- 
3  his  tuft  of 
5  down  by 
tion  of  an 
of  his  plan 
jy,  and  he 
fideHty.  It 
)onze. 
lo  point,  to 

extensive 
loca  Tigre, 
:e.  There 
3  of  twelve 
of  boats  of 
e  is  on  '  iie 
lept  on  *  r- 

moveable 
ive  sailors. 
The  streets 

first  time, 
aven  heads 

as  on  the 
lave  some- 
lother,  and 

tails  were 

c  a  double 
3p  his  head 
rdly  shave 
3ok  like  a 
specimens 


RECOLLECTIONS    OF    CHINA. 


269 


for  the  study  of  phrenology.  The  shampooing  is  a 
separate  job  with  the  barbers,  and  has  an  additional 
price.  It  consists  in  cleaning  out  the  ear  with  a  small 
spoon,  and  introducing  some  very  soft  brushes. 

The  Chinese  form  their  written  characters  very  nice- 
ly; they  write  with  a  hair  pencil,  in  lines  from  top  to 
bottom,  beginning  at  the  right  hand  corner  of  a  page, 
and  this  is  peculiar  to  China  and  Japan.  In  all  memo- 
rials to  Mandarins,  but  more  especially  to  the  Emperor, 
the  greatest  nicety  is  required,  both  in  the  expression 
and  characters.  There  are  particular  words  appropria- 
ted to  different  ranks,  and  no  words  must  occur  twice  in 
the  same  memorial;  to  write  a  proper  memorial  in  Chi- 
na is  therefore  as  difRcult  as  to  draw  a  special  plea  in 
more  favored  countries.  But  good  penmen  will  write 
with  wonderful  rapidity,  and  they  seem  to  write  as  fast 
as  they  can  think.  Would,  Sir,  that  I  could  do  it;  you 
would  have  better  '  recollections,'  for  when  I  happen  to 
have  a  good  thought  it  escapes  before  I  can  get  it  out. 

The  Chinese  can  calculate  eclipses.  These  are  cal- 
culated for  the  capital  of  every  province  in  the  empire; 
and  the  mandarins  of  the  provinces  are  therefore  in 
readiness  for  the  eclipse  at  the  very  moment  when  it  is 
to  happen.  When  the  obscuration  begins,  the  people 
(like  the  Neapolitans  in  a  snow  storm)  fall  onth-oir  knees, 
amid  a  horrid  noise  of  gongs  and  other  soft  ini?'.«ments 
of  Chinese  music.  They  have  a  belief,  fouv^'^i.  r.i  tra- 
dition, that  the  luminary  is  about  (o  be  devourea  by  a 
dragon,  which  catastrophe  nothing  but  noise  and  tumult 
can  prevent;  and  if  outcries  can  preserve  her,  the  moon 
is  safe.  When  the  luminary  emerges,  the  exultation  is 
extreme,  and  every  man  prides  himself  on  the  part  he 
himself  took  to  aid  her. 

In  a  country  where  so  many  thousand  families  live 
on  the  river,  many  must  subsist  upon   fish,  which  are 
23* 


•l^ 


t    , 


! 


1  u 


i'nl  y 


II 


m 


mm. 


»^ 


11^  ie 


270 


RECOLLKCTIONS   OF    CHINA. 


providentially  abundant.  In  China  every  animal  must 
work,  unless,  as  in  England,  the  hog  is  the  only  gentle- 
man; cormorants,  therefore,  are  employed  in  the  river 
fisheries.  The  birds  are  trained  to  it  with  care,  and  lest 
they  should  eat  a  good  fish,  a  leathern  thong  is  tied 
about  their  neck,  so  that  they  cannot  swallow.  One 
fisherman  goes  out  with  a  dozen  birds,  which  you  may 
see  perched  on  the  gunwale  of  his  boat;  when  one  of 
them  takes  a  fish  too  large  for  its  strength,  another  comes 
to  its  assistance,  and  lifting  the  prey  by  the  tail  and  the 
gills,  they  carry  it  to  the  master.  Some  of  the  cormo- 
rants, like  men,  have  a  sense  of  honesty,  and  require  no 
bandage  about  the  neck;  but  having  finished  their  em- 
ployer's business,  are  allowed  to  fish  on  their  own  ac- 
count. Ducks  also  are  used  as  in  Lincolnshire  for  de- 
coys; but  a  very  common  method  to  catch  the  fowl  is 
this;  in  the  bays  and  rivers  where  they  are  found,  the 
sportsmen  throw  a  large  kind  of  gourd  with  which  the 
ducks  get  so  familiar  that  they  will  swim  and  play  around 
them;  then  comes  the  traitor,  with  his  head  enclosed  in 
a  similar  gourd,  and  a  bag  tied  about  his  middle,  in  which 
us  the  fowl  are  numerous,  he  carries  off  as  many  as  he 
requires. 

The  Chinese  have  a  passion  for  flowers,  and  there 
are  flower-sellers  everywhere  in  the  streets.  They 
have  also  a  taste  for  cultivating  dwarf  trees,  and  on  their 
terraces  you  may  sec  pines,  oaks  and  oranges  not  so 
high  as  your  knee.  To  give  some  of  these  trees  the  ap- 
pearance of  great  age,  honey  is  s.r»ro«d  over  them  to  at- 
tract the  insects  that  they  may  bore  mto  the  barh,  and 
to  increase  the  delusion,  a  few  branches  are  killed 
and  covered  wi  h  moss.  Their  rage  however  is  for  the 
peony,  which  they  call  the  kin:;  of  flowers,  and  for  a 
favorite  plant  they  will  give  a  hundred  dollars.  There 
are  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  species  of  this  flower  in 


nal  must 
'  gentle- 
the  river 
and  lest 
g  is  tied 
V.     One 
you  may 
in  one  of 
er  comes 
and  the 
e  cormo- 
jquire  no 
heir  em- 
own  ac- 
e  for  de- 
le fowl  is 
»und,  the 
k^hich  the 
y  around 
closed  in 
in  which 
ny  as  he 

,nd  there 
They 
on  their 
not   so 
s  the  ap- 
m  to  at- 
ari:, and 
e  killed 
s  for  the 
nd  for  a 
There 
lower  in 


RECCI-LECTIONS   OF   CHINA. 


271 


China,  cultivated  in  large  beds,  and  so  managed  as  to 
blossom  in  spring,  summer,  and  autumn.  But  Chinese 
flowers  have  generally  nothing  but  their  beauty;  their 
lilac  is  without  smell,  and  their  splendid  rose,  the  Hor- 
tensia,  without  fragrance. 

In  China  an  old  bachelor  is  a  phenomenon;  it  follows 
that  there  are  but  few  single   ladies,  and,  perhaps,  not 
one  vestal,   where  Diana  is  so  generally  known  as  Lu- 
cina.     Marriages  are  early,  and   blessed  with  great  in- 
crease, and  I  have  often  seen,   on  the  gunwale  of  a  lit- 
tle junk,  a  lino  of  fifteen  small  children.     The  Chinese, 
however,  are  not  a  gallant  race  of  men,  and  they  do  not 
regard  females  with  t!ic  romantic  deference  of  our  times 
of  chivalry.     They  seldom  break  a  lance  for  beauty,  un- 
less in  the    unmanly  form  of  a  bamboo  raised  against 
what  they  should   honor,  and  (as  the  lawyer  says)  for- 
ever defend;  for  the  Chinese  code,  like  the  English,  al- 
lows a  husbiind  (or  as  his  lordship  is  styled  in  our  book, 
a  baron)  to  correct  his  wife  with  a  stick  no  larger  than 
his  thumb.    Such  privileges  in  the  brave  are,  1  suppose, 
apt  to  create  docility  in  the  fair;  and,  in  Chinu,  Grisel- 
da  would   look  too  much   like  the  truth,  for  a  popular 
novel.     Cinderilla  would  have  the  most  admirers,  where 
to  have  a  little   foot  is  to  be  every  way  amiable  and  at- 
tractive.    The  fashion  of  feet,  however,  varies,  even  in 
China,  where   the  Tariar  ladies  take  a  pride  in  display- 
ing a  foot  of  substance.     Ihey  wear  a  hujic  shoe,  with 
wooden  soles   turned  up  at  the  toe;  of  course,  they  do 
not  walk  gracefully,  but  they  are  excellent  riders,  sitting 
with  one  foot  on  each  side  of  the  horse. 

I  think  it  is  staled  by  Sir  George  Staunton,  that  he 
saw  lew  beggars  in  China,  though  the  population  was 
so  crowded  that  he  estimated  at  a  hundred  thousand  the 
number  of  the  people  living  on  one  branch  of  a  river; 
yet  the  mass  of  the  people  are  poor,  and  there  seem  to 


i.M 


ill 


■11 


f 


if 
I 


rvl 


; 


'!i 


272 


RECOLLECTIONS    OF    CHINA. 


be  no  rich  merchvints  retired  from  trade,  or  landholders 
with  hereditary  domains.  In  law,  if  not  in  fact,  the 
land  is  the  Emperor's,  and  rent  is  paid  in  kind.  The 
grain  is  stored  in  various  parts  of  the  empire,  and  in  a 
season  of  scarcity  is  so  freely  distributed  that  the  Em- 
peror sustains  the  paternal  character,  and  seems  to  be 
indeed  the  father  of  his  people. 

In  a  country  with  a  population  so  crowded,  the  cir- 
'julating  medium  is  well  accommodated  to  the  wants  of 
ths  poor.  The  lee  is  a  coin  of  copper,  not  without  alloy, 
of  the  value  of  one  mill,  so  that  there  is  a  thousand  to  a 
dollar.  There  is  a  hole  through  the  middle  and  they 
are  strung  like  buttons;  but  large  payments  are  made  in 
silver,  cast  into  lumps  of  ten  ounces  each.  The  Span- 
ish dollar  is  current  in  circulation,  but  scarce,  and  I  can 
say  the  same  of  it  where  I  live.  It  is  said  that  count- 
less millions  have  been  used  to  adorn  the  temples  of  the 
Lama  in  China  and  in  Tartary.  ' 

When  an  Emperor  dies  his  coin  passes  at  a  discount, 
as  under  similar  circumstances  the  medals  of  our  own 
great  men  are  depreciated.  The  coin  seems  to  be 
the  only  monument  that  an  Emperor  can  transmit  to 
posterity,  for  the  envy  of  his  successor  is  sure  to  destroy 
his  triumphal  arches  and  pagodas. 

In  China  there  is  no  union  between  church  and  state, 
partly  because  the  Emperor  is  strong  enough  alone,  but 
principally  because  there  is  no  church.  The  people  are 
credulous  in  omens,  ana  have  various  methods  of  divina- 
tion; the  mobt  common,  before  they  enter  upon  any 
great  undertaking,  isto  throw  up  a  lee,  or  '  sky  a  copper,' 
and  they  abandon  the  enterprise  when  the  coin  comes 
up  '  tail.'  This  is  rather  a  loose  method  of  proceeding, 
but  is  sagacious  enough  before  a  law-suit,  where,  with 
all  the  omens,  and  the  law  itself  on  his  side,  a  man  may 
be  vanquished. 


ndholders 
fact,  the 
nd.  The 
,  and  in  a 
the  Em- 
ems  to  be 

I,  the  cir- 
3  wants  of 
lout  alloy, 
isand  to  a 

and  they 
e  made  in 
he   Span- 

and  I  can 
at  count- 
)les  of  the 

discount, 

our  own 

ms  to  be 

ransmit  to 

0  destroy 

and  state, 
alone,  but 
leople  are 
of  divina- 
ipon  any 

1  copper,' 
o'm  comes 
oceeding, 
ere,  with 
man  may 


:l' 


RECOLLECTIONS    OF    CHINA. 


273 


All  religions  are  tolerated,  but  that  of  Fo  is  the  most 
general.  It  includes  a  belief  in  transmigration  of  the 
soul,  till  the  spirit  of  the  transmigrator  has  atoned  the 
misdeeds  committed  in  the  first  body,  and  the  '  lex  talio- 
nis  '  is  the  rule  of  infliction;  that  is,  whatever  sufl^Dring 
a  man  has  wantonly  caused  to  others,  the  same  he  is 
obliged  to  endure  in  their  own  forms.  To  me,  Sir,  this 
would  be  a  startling  creed,  for  to  say  nothing  of  the 
wounds  I  have  given  to  the  afl^ection  of  those  who  are 
now  beyond  the  reach  of  ingratitude,  I  should  have  some- 
thing formidable  to  suffer  besides.  I  should,  according 
to  my  estimates,  be  impaled  thirteen  thousand  times  in 
the  character  of  a  fish  worm;  I  must  reanimate  the  bod- 
ies of  two  thousand  grasshoppers  that  died  of  a  fish  hook 
in  the  back;  I  should  die  four  thousand  and  odd  times 
(and  often  miserably  lacerated)  with  pigeon  shot;  I 
should  revive  thrice  in  the  form  of  an  alligator,  to  be 
dug  from  my  hole  and  killed  with  a  spade  in  the  head; 
I  should  live  seventy  times  as  a  woodchuck  in  a  clover 
field  and  be  as  often  despatched  by  a  farmer's  cub  with 
a  cudgel;  I  should  live  under  a  bank,  as  a  speckled 
trout,  and  gasp  out  life  twelve  hundred  times  on  the 
green  grass  of  the  meadow ;  and  lastly  if  I  must  trans- 
migrate and  suffer  all  the  pain  myself  that  I  have  wan- 
tLiily  or  without  excuse  inflicted,  or  permitted  on  other 
animals,  I  must  live  and  die  in  the  body  of  poor  Rescue, 
who  was  hung  from  the  great  beam  on  suspicion  of  steal- 
ing sheep.  Neither  man  nor  dog  should  be  executed 
on  circumstantial  evidence;  for  Rescue  died  bold  in  in- 
nocence, and  my  heart  smites  me  to  this  day  that  I  had 
not  firmness  to  resist  the  clamor  of  the  neighbors,  who 
wanted  a  victim  to  save  their  own  vile  curs.  If,  afler 
all,  the  doctrine  of  transmigration  should  be  true,  I  would 
not,  bad  as  I  have  been,  take  the  lot  of  Izaak  Walton, 
who  has  so  much  reparation  to  make  to  frogs,  that  it 
will  take  him  a  great  while  to  get  into  the  fish. 


'   I, 


fi' 


'! 


( n 


U\ 


i 


-|: 


274 


RECOLLECTIONS    OF    CHINA. 


Vt\U' 


It  is  common  in  Europe  to  reproach  the  Chinese  with 
their  practice  of  destroying  or  exposing  infants,  though 
it  is  so  seldom   known   that  it  can  hardly  be  termed  a 
practice.     Sometimes   indeed,  a  new  born  babe  may  be 
seen  floating  down  tlio  river,  tied  to  a  gourd,  that  some 
compassionate  soul  who  has  the  means  of  supporting, 
may  rescue  it.    But  consider,  censorious  Sir,  that  where 
a  practice  has  descended  from   antiquity,  it  implies  far 
less   crime  to  follow  it   than  to    commit  the  same  act 
where   the    feeling  and  custom  and  law  are  against  it; 
and   did   you   never  read  of  the  exposure  of  infants  in 
London  or  Paris,  or  did  you  never  hear  of  it  in  more  moral 
cities,  and  are  not  a  thousand  infants  secretly  destroyed 
where  the  murder  of  one  is  detected.     In  China  infan- 
ticide is  almost  necessary;  the   population   is  full;  and 
many  a  man  '  finds  no  cover  set  for  him  at  nature's  ta- 
ble.'    The    land  is  filled    with  people,   and  the    single 
branch  of  a  river  is  thought  to  contain  in  floating  fam- 
ilies more  than  a  hundred  thousand.     If  we   have  less 
than  the  Chinese  to  answer  for  in  exposing  children,  do 
we  educate  them  in  a  better  manner?    Is  there  not  with 
us  H  wretched  class,  the  offspring  of  sin  and  the   inheri- 
tors of  shame,  brought  up  from  their  cradle  to  follow  evil 
rather  than  good  ?     Hearken  to  the  schoolmaster.     A 
child  is  born  into  the    world  whtch  he   soon  finds  to  be 
one  of  sorrow.    He  is  wrapped  in  a  mass  of  clothes  that 
checks  the  circulation,  and  embarrasses  the  free  motion 
of  his  limbs.     He  is  soon  frightened  with  tales  of  ghosts 
that  '  squeak  and  gibber '  till  darkness  aud  solitude  be- 
come a  state  of  suffering.     It  is  little  better  for  his  in- 
tellect to  be  amused  with  fairy  tales  or  the  usual  nursery 
rhymes.     When  with  his  comrades  at  the  narrow  school, 
two   amiable    principles    lead    him  through    the  flinty 
paths  of  learning,  pride  and  fear;  the   fear  of  the  pain 
rather  than  the  shame  of  punishment,  and  the  pride  of 


RECOLLECTIONS    OF    CHINA. 


275 


ese  with 
,  though 
crmed  a 
may  be 
lat  some 
)porting, 
at  where 
iplies  far 
tame  act 
gainst  it; 
infants  in 
ore  moral 
lestroyed 
la  in  fan- 
full;  and 
ture's  la- 
ne  single 
ing  fam- 
ave  less 
Idren,  do 
not  with 
e  inheri- 
Ibllow  evil 
ister.     A 
nds  to  be 
ithes  that 
e  motion 
of  ghosts 
itude  be- 
'or  his  in- 
1  nursery 
iw  school, 
[the  flinty 
the  pain 
pride  of 


excelling  his  mates.     He  is  instructed  in  languages  and 
sciences,  but  who  gives  him  religious  and  moral  instruc- 
tion?    At  the  period  of  life,  when  the  disposition  is  ar- 
dent and  new  impressions  indelible,  what   kind    master 
instructs  him  in  the  sorrow  and  shame   that   follow  de- 
ceit, or  the  indissoluble    union    between   duty  and  hap- 
piness? Fellow  citizens!  listen  to  the  pedagogue.  If  you 
subject  yourselves  to  the  responsible  relation  of  parents 
it  is  fearful  to  neglect  the  duties.   Bestow  upon  the  morals 
a  tythe  of  the  time  devoted  to  Latin  and  there  will  be 
to  the  public  less  crime,  and  to  you  in  your  age  more 
respect  and  gratitude.     Is  there  any  excuse  for  an  un- 
dutifulson?     Yes,  the  care  of  his  parents  in  h'is  youth 
that  he  should  advance  more  in  knowledge  than  in  vir- 
tue. ■'      '  '■  ,^,        ;:..,.      :. 


NO.  IV. 


K 


Sir — In  my  last  letter  concerning  transmigrations  I 
forgot  to  state  that  old  Kien  Long  was  so  well  satisfied 
with  the  mind  that  animated  his  body  as  to  believe  it 
that  of  Fo  himself  This  opinion  seemed  to  him  so  rea- 
sonable that  he  acted  upon  it,  and  his  temples  dedicated 
to  Fo,  were  so  splendid  as  to  employ  a  great  part  of  the 
silver  imported  to  China,  and  what  has  gone  from  our 
city  is  enough  to  ornament  at  least  one  altar.  I  never 
heard,  however,  that  the  Chinese  Emperor  imitated  the 
sagacious  Roman  and  acted  as  priest  to  himself 

The  Chinese  liave  with  strangers  thaf.  easy  confi- 
dence that  witl'  us  a  'ich  man  feels  towards  the  poor; 
that  kind  of  sell- possession,  founded  on  conscious  supe- 
riority, and  sometimes  called   impudence.     The  polite- 


/a 


M 


I 

f 


-Ml 


..r... 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


1.0 


1.1 


1^ 

■so 


1^  ££ 


i;'i 


2.0 


1.8 


1.25  1  1.4      1.6 

^ 

6"     

► 

Photographic 

Sdences 

Corporation 


2;t  V<;eS    VASN  STRKT 

WEBSTER,  M.Y.  14S80 

(71«)  872-4503 


,.<^. 


"S^ 


if* 


imm 


276 


RECOLLECTIONS   OF   CHINA. 


ness  of  China  is  established  by  law.  It  is  a  strict  cere- 
monial, and  as  a  stranger  knows  nothing  of  it,  and  as  a 
Chinese  thinks  it  founded  on  what  Square  calls '  the 
rule  of  right  and  eternal  fitness  of  things,'  the  self  com- 
placency of  the  polite  Mandarin  is  mingled  with  a  little 
contempt  for  the  stranger.  When  the  Chinese,  how- 
ever, has  shewn  ofi  his  accomplishments  in  the  eye  of  a 
less  refined  foreigner,  he  is  so  good  natured  as  to  make 
him  forget  the  vast  diflTerence  between  the  parties,  by 
an  obliging  condescension.  Chinese  politeness,  like 
thcreligion  of  the  Catholics,  (and  some  of  the  Protes- 
tants) is  one  of  ceremonial.  It  is  convenient,  inasmuch 
as  it  does  not  compel  a  man  to  surrender  his  own  pleas- 
ure to  another;  for  the  demands  of  civility  are  satisfied 
with  certain  established  movements  of  the  body  and  nod- 
dings  of  the  head.  No  less  convenient  is  a  religion  that 
is  confined  to  formal  observances.  If  a  man  be  a  thief, 
and  steal  the  property  of  his  neighbor,  or  worse,  a  ca- 
lumniator, and  rob  him  of  his  good  name,  the  creed  that 
would  command  restitution  and  repentance,  must  be  less 
agreeable  than  that  which  buys  the  absolution  of  the 
priest,  or  the  intercession  of  St  Peter. 

There  are  good  catholics  at  Macao,  where  there  is 
a  bishop  who  is  truly  a  pious  man.  At  the  same  place, 
in  a  population  of  seven  thousand  Portuguese,  there  are 
fourteen  churches,  four  monasteries,  one  convent  for 
nuns  and  another  for  Magdalens;  the  latter  ladies  are 
shut  up  till  they  are  married,  and  as  a  good  name  is  not 
there  an  indispensable  dowry,  they  are  soon  released. 

The  Portuguese  character  at  Macao  is  equally  ami- 
able with  the  national  peculiarities  at  Lisbon.  The  Hi- 
dalgo will  not  soil  his  hands  with  toil,  but  condescends 
to  beg;  and  he  is  as  brave  as  he  is  industrious.  It  would 
be  hard  to  settle  the  question  of  the  relafive  courage  of 
the  Portuguese  and  Chinese,  as  it  has  never  been  test- 


RECOLLECTIONS   IN    CHINA. 


277 


ict  cere- 
and  as  a 
alls  *  the 
lelf  com- 
li  a  little 
}e,   how- 
eye  of  a 
to  make 
irties,  by 
ess,  like 
J  Protes- 
inasmuch 
urn  pleas- 
satisfied 
and  nod- 
igion  that 
le  a  thief, 
rse,  a  ca-   . 
ireed  that 
st  be  less 
m  of  the 

B  there  is 
me  place, 
there  are 
jnvent  for 
ladies  are 
ime  is  not 
eleased. 
I  ally  ami- 
TheHi- 
idescends 
.  It  would 
ourage  of 
)een  test- 


ed in  the  field,  but  John  China-man  shuts  the  land  gate 
and  starves  his  neighbour  into  his  own  way  of  thinking; 
for  there  is  a  strange  connexion  of  the  intellect  wiih  the 
appetite,  as  you  may  sec  if  you  happen  to  be  sitting  with 
a  discordant  jury.  I  hope,  Sir,  to  be  tried  for  this  libel 
after  dinner,  for '  wretches  hang,  that  jurymen  may  dine.* 

The  Chinese,  with  a  great  many  secrets  in  the  arts, 
are  yet  ignorant  in  the  sciencoSi  Lord  Amherst  won 
the  heart  of  the  Viceroy  of  Canton,  by  the  present  of  a 
phosphorus  bottle,  tit  light  hi^  pipe,  and  the  ^cat  man 
exulted  that  he  could  carry  fire  without  burning  hij 
pocket. 

The  medical  profession  in  China  is  not  lucrative,  and 
a  fee,  in  case  of  difficulty,  is  about  sixpence  sterling. 
The  student  obtains  the  knowledge  of  the  profession, 
like  Gil  Bias  with  Doctor  Sangrado— by  watching  the 
practice  of  his  master,  rather  thun  turning  over  books. 
Surgery  is  in  a  state  of  similar  advancement,  amputa- 
tion is  unknown,  and,  in  cases  of  mortification,  death, 
instead  of  the  doctor,  relieves  the  patient;  though  in 
America  I  have  known  both  upon  him  at  once.  The 
Empcroi^s  physicians  are  eunuchs,  but  Kien  Long  had 
so  good  a  constitution,  that  he  survived  all  his  physicians, 
thou'^h,  strange  to  tell,  he  took  their  medicines.  Tho 
accoucheurs  are  invariably  females; — a  different  state 
of  things  would  be  considered  preposterous.  The  reg- 
ular physicians,  in  consideration  of  their  slender  fees, 
are  allowed  to  practise  on  horses  and  cattle,  and,  with 
Ao  much  skill  that  they  oflener  lose  a  man  than  an  ox- 
They  have  adopted  the  judicious  way  of  some  of  our 
doctors,  to  bring  their  merits  be. ore  an  undiscriminat- 
ing  public.  They  have  handbills,  testifying  to  their 
pkill  and  cures.  I  do  not  know  that  they  have  the  lo- 
24 


4 


4- 


mmm 


wm 


278 


RECOLLECTIONS    IN   CHINA. 


I  ^ 


li ', 


W  \ 


belia;  though  they  have  means  equally  speedy  of  draw- 
ing a  patient's  sufferings  to  a  close. 

A  Chinese  physician  not  only  desires  to  give  good 
medicine,  but  is  anxious  to  administer  it  at  a  lucky  time; 
— and  this  is  throwing  a  fee  in  the  way  of  a  professional 
brother,  for  a  conjuror  is  consulted  for  the  auspicious 
hour.  There  is  a  medicine  in  great  demand;  it  is  a 
kind  of  elixir  vitce,  or  draught  of  immortality.  All  men 
die,  yet  their  successors  have  the  confidence  to  drink. 
Grave  men  may  smile  at  this;  but  what  is  their  own  cus- 
tom? Have  they  not  some  favorite  'drop  or  nostrum/ 
that  is  to  keep  death  at  bay  for  the  present,  and,  when 
the  present  becomes  the  past,  that  will  still  cast  the  grim, 
'  but  sccptered  sovereign, '  far  into  the  shadows  of  the  fu- 
ture? Do  any  men  think  to  die  at  the  present  moment, 
and  is  not  all  time  the  present  ?  This  elixir  is  thought, 
by  Sir  George  Staunton,  to  be  composed  chiefly  of  opi- 
um, and  when  the  candidate  for  immortality  is  under  its 
influence,  his  visions  are  so  beatific  that  they  seem  like 
a  foretaste. 

The  Chinese  have  for  ages  practised  inoculation  for 
the  small  pox;  the  matter  is  put  :ipon  a  piece  of  cotton 
and  thrust  up  the  nostril,  and  if  the  patient  lives,  he  was 
born  under  a  lucky  star,  to  which  he  is  as  much  indebt- 
ed as  to  his  doctor. 

Were  you  joking  ?  or  was  it  really  your  fortune  to 
serve  the  commonwealth  on  the  jury,  at  a  dollar  a  day? 
It  is  a  splendid  allowance  for  a  responsible  office. 
There  is  nothing  like  it  in  China,  where  the  juryman's 
duty  is  discharged  by  the  judge;  a  system  of  economy 
like  ours  of  brevet,  in  which  a  man  is  obliged  to  sup- 
port the  splendor  of  two  titles,  with  the  pay  that  pertains 
to  the  less.  This  trial  by  jury  is  called  a  great  bulwark, 
and  on  paper  it  looks  remarkably  well;  but  abuses  will 


RECOLLECTIONS   OF   CHINA. 


t79 


ves,  he  WEB 
ich  indebt- 


creep  into  the  best  of  systei][is.  The  inlet  to  abuse  in, 
that  the  returns  of  jurymen  are  too  general,  and  inchide 
men  that  I  ^ould  not  trust  to  count  6(ly;  I  should 
not  like  to  be  tried  by  such,  though,  when  my  time 
comes,  I  shall  have  no  choice.  Be  honest,  and  tell, 
in  the  form  of  a  note,  if  some  of  your  twelve  did  not  fall 
asleep  in  the  box.  Were  not  four  of  them  shallow,  four 
obstinate,  two  careless,  and  the  rest  not  over  attentive? 
Be  pacified,  grave  Sir,  I  mean  not  the  men  who  com- 
posed that ']ury J  for  I  know  them  not,  but  I  am  speaking 
of  what  too  often  occurs.  The  jurors  are  taken  from 
the  body  of  tl-  people,  and  I  grant  you  that  it  is  in  the 
main  a  respecUible  body;  yet  I  would  that  some  of  them 
had  stayed  longer  at  school;  jurymen  should  be  above 
the  reach  of  prejudice  or  party  excitement.  In  this 
country  (it  is  well  said)  we  have  no  rabble;  true,  we 
have  not  a  race  of  vagabonds  without  home  or  family, 
local  attachment,  or  moral  honesty — but  we  have  a  for- 
midable body  of  men  who  despise  knowledge  in  others 
because  they  are  themselves  ignorant,  and  who  would 
banish  refinement  and  elevation  of  character,  because 
they  are  the  mark  of  a  gentleman.  They  have  among 
themselves,  men  whom  they  delight  to  honor,  because  it 
is  elevating  a  brazen  image  of  tbemselves.  Their  fa- 
vorites owe  their  popularity  to  a  readiness  in  flattering 
the  faults  of  their  constituents,  and  in  calumniating  men 
more  intelligent  and  h(  it.. able  than  themselves;  they 
foment  the  jealousy  that  li.e  ignorant  na  irally  feel  to- 
wards the  better  informed,  and  ride  into  office  on  the 
storm  that  they  themselves  have  raised.  It  is  a  bad 
sign  for  the  constitution  when  such  men  bear  sway. 
Within  the  present  century  it  was,  ail  over  New  Eng- 
land, a  character  for  a  man,  that  he  had  a  liberal  educa- 
tion and  was  a  gentleman.  I  am  no  aristocrat,  though  I 
stand  for  the  aristocracy  of  merit;  but  we  live  in  ahigh- 


.kf 


( 


wm^mm 


mm 


I 


280 


RECOLLECTIONS    OF    CHINA. 


]y  artificial  state  of  society  and  of  political  economy,  to 
understand  which  men  must  read  as  well  as  think;  and 
I  will  as  soon  believe  that  a  blacksmith  is  a  proper  per- 
son to  repair  a  watch,  as  that  a  man  with  no  other  qual- 
ifications than  ignorance  and  impudence,  can  make  or 
administer  the  laws. 

Here  is  much  evil  already,  and  the  germ  of  more; 
what  is  the  remedy?  schoolhouses;  every  question  in 
the  last  appeal  comes  to  the  people;  theirs  is  the  su- 
preme tribunal,  but  ignorance  never  made  a  good  judge. 
I  do  not  say  or  believe  that  the  greatest  scholars  are 
the  wisest  men,  but  there  is  a  high  degree  of  general 
intelligence  necessary  in  this  country  to  preserve  our 
institutions.  If  the  body  of  the  people  are  ignorant, 
more,  if  they  are  not  very  intelligent,  they  will  be  dupes 
to  the  crafty  and  unptincipled.  They  must  have  an 
early  and  faithful,  but  plain  education,  and  there  will 
be  no  country  on  earth  so  happy  and  flourishing  as  this; 
but  if  our  youth  are  brought  up  in  ignorance  themselves, 
and  are  excited  to  distrust  knowledge  in  others,  Turkey 
itself  is  not  so  near  to  a  fall  as  these  United  States. 

I,  Sir,  am  one  of  the  people;  my  sympathies  and 
good  wishes  are  rather  with  the  Plebeians  than  the  Pa- 
trician^, yet  I  lament  that  the  most  numerous  class 
should  be  deluded  by  the  craft  of  the  designing — that 
they  should  distrust  one  man  because  he  is  intelligent, 
and  confide  in  another  because  he  abuses  what  he  can- 
not attain  to,  or  comprehend. 

Educate  the  rulers,  that  is,  send  the  people  to  school, 
and  they  will  be  well  able  to  govern  themselves,  but  a 
w!ld  horse  is  not  wilder  than  an  ignorant,  and  therefore 
a  wilful  man,  clothed  in  authority.  But  lop  offthe  mili- 
tia system  and  have  the  same  rate  of  fines  for  delin- 
quents at  school,  and  we  shall  have  better  citizens  as 
well  as  better  soldiers. 


mmm 


jmmmm 


RECOLLECTIONS   OF    CHINA. 


281 


It  ia  a  great  tb'ng  for  China  that  she  has  a  permanent 
fashion  of  national  dress.     A  national  dress  makes  a 
man  more  patriotic,  as  it  gives  him  a  vivid  conception  of 
the  great  and  good  of  antiquity,  and  forms  a  desirable 
distinction  between  people  of  different  countries.     It  is, 
moreover,  a  measure  of  private  economy,  very  advan- 
tageous in  a  crowded  population.    In  this  country,  dress 
is  a  terrible  tax  upon  industry,   for   not   even  a  plain 
schoolmaster  can  hold  his  station  in  society,  without  at 
least  a  biennial  coat;  while  in  China,  the  same  garment 
covers  successive  generations  of  men.     1  myself,  once 
endeavoured   (though  not  from  choice)  to  overturn  this 
state  of  things,  but  what  can  one  man  do  against  an 
universal  evil.     This  was  at  Ratsburgh,  where  I  kept 
my  first  school,  twentyseven  years  ago,  and  *  boarded 
round.'     There  was  a  ball  at  Thanksgiving,   (it  was 
enjoined  in  the  proclamation)  and  I  went,  in  a  coat  that 
was  first  expanded  at  my  father's  wedding,  some  lus- 
trums before.     I  have  forgotten  what  was  the  fashion 
then,  for  it  has  since  changed  a  hundred  times,  but  well 
I  remember  the  contour  of  that  coat;  the  skirts  were 
skirts  indeed,  and  in  dancing  flapped  against  my  ancles; 
the  waist  was  under  the  shoulder-blades,  and  in  front 
was  a  row  of  gilded  buttons,  touching  each  other,  to  the 
top  of  the  collar.     But  in  these  latter  days,  we  judge  a 
stranger  exclusively    from  his  dress,  and    it   was  the 
saying  of  a  poor  man  in  a  profession,  that  he  could  not 
afford  to  wear  a  cheap  coat,  it  would  cost  him  half  his 
patients. 

Have  I  told  you  anything  of  the  Great  Wall  ?  Sir 
George  Staunton  described  it  accurately,  for  he  crossed 
it  in  going  from  Pekin  to  Zhe-hol.  The  majesty  of 
China  was  then  resident  in  Tartary,  at  the  '  Palace  of 
Grateful  Coolness,'  in  the  '  Grove  of  Innumerablo 
Trees.'  The  Wall,  is  misnamed,  it  is  rather  a  chain  of 
24* 


mufrnmi 


■■ 


i'l 


\\\ 


282 


RECOLLECTIONS   OF    CHINA. 


forts,  of  the  extent  of  fifteen  hundred  miles;  the  idea  of 
tt  wall  does  not  include  half  its  wonders,  even  na  our 
White  Mountains  with  all  their  grandeur,  are  belittled 
by  the  name  of  Hilli. 

On  the  fourth  day  of  the  embassay's  journey  from 
Pekin,  was  seen  a  tine  running  through  valleys  and  over 
the  summits  of  mountains.  As  the  cavalcade  approach- 
ed, they  discovered  bastions  and  battlements,  and  at 
important  passes  several  successive  ranges  of  the  wall. 
This  line  of  defence  ran  over  mountains  six  thousand 
feet  in  height,  and  across  rivers  of  the  largest  size. 
The  general  height,  without  the  battlements,  was  twen- 
tyfive  feet,  and  the  thickness  was  about  the  same. 

A  volume  of  Roman  history  might  have  given  the 
Chinese  some  better  learning  on  the  subject  of  walls. 
It  would  have  shown  them  the  policy  of  Romulus,  and 
they  would  have  gathered  more  wisdom  from  later  times. 
They  would  have  seen  the  constant  struggles  of  the 
North  to  overcome  and  overrun  the  fertile  South. 
Could  walls  defend  a  country,  the  Alps  had  defended 
Italy — what  wall  is  like  them?  yet  the  African, the  Gaul, 
and  the  Gctth,  poured  over  its  summit  upon  the  land  of 
the  olive  and  vine.  To  build  a  wall  of  defence  is  to 
invite  an  attack;  as  it  ijUimates  at  the  same  time  wealth 
and  cowardice.  There  can  be  no  better  wall  than  a  line 
of  hay  between  two  rail  fences,  or  a  hasty  redoubt  of 
cotton  bags.  But  the  Chinese  carry  the  principle 
to  their  private  dwellings;  and  their  houses  are  sur- 
rounded by  a  wall  eight  feet  high,  where  is  entrenched 
a  family  of  several  generations;  as,  if  he  be  safe,  a 
Chinese  little  cares  how;  for,  (in  the  language  of  Field- 
ing's learned  turnkey) — 

«  Virtus  an  bolus  quis  in  a  hostess  equiret.' 

E.  D. 


nCCOLLECTIONA   OF   CHINA. 


389 


L'  idea  of 
{  H»  our 
belittled 

ley  from 
and  over 
j)proach- 
,  and  at 
the  wall, 
thousand 
rest  size. 
/as  twcn- 
mc. 

riven  the 
of  walls. 
Lilus,  and 
ter  times, 
les  of  the 
3    South, 
defended 
the  Gaul, 
le  land  of 
ence  is  to 
ne  wealth 
ran  a  line 
cdoubt  of 
principle 
are  sur- 
atrenched 
J  safe,  a 
of  Field- 


E.  D. 


^O.  V. 

Sir. — The  population  of  China  is  to  us  Americans, 
who  require  a  square  mile  each  to  bustle  in,  almost  a 
marvel.  We  arc  not  unsocial,  though  we  like  not  to 
have  o'.'.r  neighbours  too  near ;  and  our  resource,  when 
one  comes  '  cranking  in,'  is  to  emigrate  westward 
where  the  forest  never  echoed  to  an  nxc.  In  Illinois  a 
m-m  considers  himself  cramped  if  there  be  a  neighbour 
within  fifteen  miles.  But  then  a  family  over  the  moun- 
tain?, though  it  occupy  but  one  room,  can  bring  to  the 
forest  twelve  or  fourteen  axes,  and  the  average  number 
of  white  headed  urchins  in  one  household,  is  twenty 
two.  But  there,  as  in  C.iina,  is  no  celibacy.  The 
Chinese  have  no  wars  to  which  they  can  send  their 
vagabonds,  '  the  cankers  of  a  calm  world  and  long 
peace.'  Chna,  for  this  unlucky  absence  of  wars,  is 
crowded  with  houseless  vagrants,  '  that  eat  the  wall 
newt  and  the  water  newt.'  Consider  that  there  are 
about  three  hundred  people  to  a  square  mile,  who  cul- 
tivate the  earth  faithfully,  and  draw  more  subsistence 
from  bread  than  from  beer.  Necessity  teaches  them 
economy  in  the  expenditure  of  food,  and  our  overstock- 
ed commonwealth  would  support  twice  the  number  if  we 
would  follow  the  thrifty  practice  of  the  Chinese,  and  in- 
troduce to  our  tables,  cats,  dogs,  rats,  mice,  '  and  such 
small  deer.' 

There  are  few  cattle  in  China,  where  the  land  is  re- 
quired to  be  more  productive  than  in  grazing.  The 
Kmpcror  is  the  great  and  universal  landlord,  letting  out 
his  lands  like  a  feudal  baron  on  a  variety  of  tenures, 
though  not  upon  mortmain.  Yet  for  so  great  a  prince 
he  has  some  strange  humilities,  he  permits  certain  cen- 
sors to  record  his  actions,  and  sometimes  they  venture 


S84 


RECOLLECTIONS    OF   CHINA 


\M 


to  censure,  but  this  is  to  walk,  like  Seneca,  on  slipperj 
ground,  and  may  cost  the  philosopher  his  life.  Flattery 
is  venial  where  since  ity  is  so  perilous.  The  great 
landlord  has  a  rond  over  his  farm,  from  which  the  ten- 
ants arc  excluded.  It  is  ten  feet  wide,  and  it  is  death 
for  a  pig  to  cross  it,  or  for  u  subject  to  travel  on  it.  It 
is  swept  like  a  parlor,  watered  like  a  garden,  and  shaded 
like  a  bower. 

The  Emperors  of  China  have  a  practice  at  variance 
with  that  of  the  potentates  of  Europe  ;  they  never 
marry  a  foreign  princess,,  but  select  their  wives  from 
the  daughters  of  the  Mandarins.  When  the  Emperor 
dies,  they  are  widows  indeed,  but  upon  the  principle 
that  boggled  FalstafT — compulsion.  They  are  shut  up 
in  a  cold  northern  edifice,  called  the  Palace  of  Chastity, 
for  it  is  considered  derogatory  to  the  dignity  of  the 
prince's  memory,  that  his  princess  should  be  devoted  to 
anything  but  the  cold  urn  of  her  husband  ;  a  d  truly  I 
think  that  Agrippina,  as  described  by  Tacitus,  landing 
at  Brundusium,  with  her  eyes  fixed  upon  the  ashes  of 
Germanicus,  makes  a  better  figure  in  history,  than 
Maria  Louisa,  listening  to  Wellington  or  Saxe  Cobourg. 
But  this  I  hope  is  a  calumny  upon  the  Duchess  of  Parma 
and  widow  of  Napoleon. 

The  daughters  of  a  Chinese  Emperor  are  not  married 
to  foreign  princes,  but  given  in  marriage  to  favorite  and 
faithful  servants.  The  Emperor  is  too  powerful  to  sell 
his  offspring  in  exchange  for  the  uncertain  favor  of 
another  monarch  ;  and  when,  even  in  Europe,  did  a 
family  alliance  predominate  over  a  reason  of  state,  or 
>vhen,  among  princes,  was  the  expedient  deferred  to  the 
right. 

The  Chinese,  however,  have  adopted  some  European 
practices.  As  there  are  many  offices  with  inadequate 
salaries,  and  as  no  man  cares  to  serve  his  country  for 


RECOLLECTIONS    OF    CHINA. 


285 


nothing,  a  Mandarin,  in  spite  of  Mngna  Chartn,  brings 
his  patriotism  to  market,  and  sells  justito  or  pardon  at 
regular  prices.  But  there  ih  no  monopoly  in  this  ;  the 
Emperor,  as  it  is  right,  has  the  first  advantage,  receiv- 
ing a  mighty  sum  from  the  viccroy^s,  who  in  return  have 
their  purses  from  the  Mandarins,  who  again  look  for 
remuneration  from  the  people. 

But  it  is  safe  for  no  man  to  display  his  wealth,  in 
China  he  had  better  be  content  to  hide  and  enjoy  it. 
A  Mandarin  has  got  a  broker's  eye  for  a  money-bag, 
and  when  it  is  discovered,  there  comes  some  grievous 
chorgc  of  the  violation  of  the  law  of  ceremony,  which 
subjects  the  offender  to  speedy  death,  while  his  effects 
pass  to  the  officer  as  administrator.  Yet  the  Mandarins 
are  liable  to  punishment  if  they  defer  justice,  and  at 
their  gate  there  is  a  gong  which  any  suitor  may  ring, 
and  the  functionary  must  discharge  his  duty  at  any  hour; 
but  then  there  is  a  clause  in  the  law,  making  it  penal 
to  strike  the  gong  for  lYivolous  causes,  and  as  the 
Mandarin  adjudges  the  importance  of  the  cause,  few 
petitioners  use  this  privilege. 

One  of  the  Emperors  of  China  who  loved  pleasure 
h'  tter  than  daylight,  and  who  disliked  the  succession  of 
liijht  and  day,  built  a  palace  of  inrumerable  lamps,  a 
hall  like  that  of  P^blis,  where  the  sun  would  not  rise 
upon  his  slumber,  or  go  down  upon  his  mirth.  The  same 
Emperor,  however,  wished  to  know  what  was  doing 
among  the  stars,  and  made  some  judicio'is  regulations 
for  the  >encourgement  of  astronomy  ;  tor  he  ordered 
that  all  astronomers  should  be  put  to  death  who  failed 
to  announce  an  eclipse.  By  this  method  he  had  better 
alniuimcs  than  he  would  have  had,  by  giving  a  medal  or 
a  premium  for  the  best.  This  Palace  of  the  Illumina- 
tions was  the  true  origin  of  the  feast  of  lumps,  so  p'-'iised 
in  Japan,  by  ^our  prosing  Boston  Merchant. 


II 


m 


wmm^^ 


^■p 


286 


RECOLLECTIONS   OF    CIIINl. 


I  havo  sometimes  seen  an  affray  between  two  pugna- 
cious Chinese.  They  first  attempt  to  catch  each  other 
by  the  tail,  or  long  tuft  of  hair, 

•Then  comes  the  tug  of  war,* 

at  every  jerk  they  make  hideous  grimaces  that  would  be 
applauded  ut  a  grinning  match.  They  seldom  strike  a 
blow,  and  when  one  party  gives  the  other  a  slight  tap 
with  a  fan,  the  contest  is  over,  the  oflender  running 
away  from  justice,  which  the  injured  seeks  of  the  Man- 
darin, who  is  prompt  to  avenge  any  flogging  but  his  own. 

You  may  safely  say,  when  you  liave  read  these  recol- 
lections, that  you  know  nothing  of  Ciiuia.  To  judge lof 
a  country  by  such  sketches,  would  be  to  condemn  a 
temple  from  the  specimen  of  a  single  brick  ;  for  at  Can- 
ton less  can  be  lea»'ncd  of  the  Chinese,  than  of  the  Eng- 
lish at  Wapping. 

Some  great  aian,  at  the  time  when  the  philosophers  of 
Europe  were  full  of  admiration  for  Chinese  institutions, 
lamented  that  he  had  not  been  born  in  China  ;  but,  had 
he  known  more  of  the  Empire,  his  regrets  would  have 
been  less.  Even  Voltaire,  who,  it  was  said,  believed 
by  turns,  everything  but  the  Bible,  gave  credit  to  the 
superior  moral  excellence  of  the  Chinese.  China  was 
held  to  be  a  sort  of  Asiatic  Arcadia,  a  country  without 
crimes,  where  men  lived  in  innocence  and  acted  only 
from  good  impulsjs.  The  public  were  bent  upon  being 
deluded  ;  or  when  they  read  of  monuments  to  chaste 
women  and  just  Mandarins,  they  would  have  doubted 
if  what  was  universal  would  be  thus  commemorated, 
and  if  the  arches  and  pagodas  were  not  rather  an  inti- 
mation of  the  infrequency  of  chastity,  and  justice,  for 
inscriptions  on  tombstones  depend  as  much  on  the  fancy 
of  the  writers  as  on  the  characters  of  the  deceased. 


■« 


RE(  OLLECTIONS    OP   CHINA. 


The  English  embasHies  gave  us  better  knowledge  of 
China.  To  the  Dutch,  we  arc  less  indebted.  These 
high-minded  people,  when  they  found  that  the  English 
had  failed,  through  want  of  docility,  in  the  kotoUy  pre- 
pared with  alacrity,  an  embassy  upon  more  accommoda- 
ting principles.  The  envoy  wos  willing  to  knock  his 
head  as  oilen  as  requested,  and  the  secretary  records 
the  particulars,  as  if  they  had  been  food  for  national 
vanity. 

The  Abbe  Raynal  also  thought  the  Chinese  a  nution 
of  philosophers.  Their  philosophy,  however,  reserr'iles 
more  that  of  Diogenes,  than  that  of  Socrates  o**  IMato. 
In  mathematics,  they  have  produced  no  one  likeAr-'hi- 
medes,  or  I  would,  in  imitation  of  Cicero,  remove  th*) 
brambles  I'rum  his  tomb.  Yet,  one  of  the  worthy  mis- 
Bf'cnaries  praises  their  love  of  the  mathematics,  though, 
said  the  honest  man,  '  they  know  little  of  them.'  The 
Chinese,  indeed,  refer  to  their  own  annals  to  show,  that 
twenty  centuries  ago,  they  were  highly  civilized;  but  it 
is  more  probable  that  they  lived  in  caverns  end  trees, 
for  they  admit  that  their  country  was  so  full  of  snakes, 
that  the  salutation  of  one  man  to  another  was,  <  I  hopo 
you  have  not  been  bitten.'  These  same  philosophers 
have  a  language  of  monosyllables,  and  written  charac- 
ters, as  difficult  to  be  acquired  as  any  of  the  sciences  in 
Europe;  it  is  an  admirable  invention  to  keep  the  people 
ignorant.  Where  the  language  is  rude,  what  can  be 
hoped  for  the  sciences  ?  it  is  but  slow  and  uncertain  tra- 
velling, where  there  is  no  road.  It  has  been  thought 
that  the  present  is  the  remnant  of  a  more  perfect  lan- 
guage, fallen  upon  a  race  of  men  that  cannot  improve  or 
restore  it.  No  man  has  power  to  introduce  a  new  cha- 
racter but  the  Emperor,  which  is  too  strict  for  republi- 
can institutions.  Here,  with  us,  each  man  coins  his 
own  words,  without  danger  of  punishment;  but,  in  the 


288 


RECOLLECTIONS    OF    CHINA. 


empire,  it  is  safer  to  alter  the  Emperor's  coin,  than  his 
Chinese. 

Many  of  the  fifty  thousand  Chinese  characters  are 
pictures  of  the  object  si<»riificd.  A  prison  is  denoted  by 
a  square  enclosure,  like  a  pound,  which,  with  a  dot  in 
the  middle,  expresses  a  captive.  The  character  that 
signifies  a  tree,  if  used  twice,  denotes  a  thicket,  and 
thrice,  a  forest;  and  time  repeated,  is  eternity. 

There  is  much  ingenuity  in  the  compound  characters. 
The  character  for  icater  and  motlier,  when  combined,  de- 
note the  sea,  mother  of  waters;  ^ood  and  word,  together, 
make  ptaisc,  which  is  a  good  word;  calamity  is  express- 
ed hyjiye  and  ivaler,  fire  and  sword,  and  also  by  a  broken 
reed,  probably  the  bamboo,  which,  in  China,  is  a  true 
symbol;  an  ear  and  door  sign. fy  to  listen;  to  grieve,  is 
e.\ pressed  by  a  heart  and  knife,  and  to  meditate,  by  a 
heart  ixnd  field;  a  sword,  pointing  to  a  heart,  like  a  free- 
mason's, signifies  patience,  and  a  bargain  is  denoted  by 
a  ivord  and  nail,  (probably  clenched.) 

The  Chinese  are  as  little  gallant  in  their  characters, 
as  the  Castilians  in  their  proverbs;  the  mark  for  a 
woman,  if  repeated,  is  strife,  and  if  used  three  times,  may 
mean  anything  bad.  A  barber  is  signified  by  razor  and 
respect,  and  doubtless  a  man  is  more  respectable  when 
shaved;  comfort  is  expressed  by  rice  and  mouth — and 
there  arc  a  thousand  similar  compounds,  as  you  may 
see  in  the  G  cat  Dictionary  of  two  hundred  volumes. 

I-iterature  in  China  is  an  open  field,  where  all  may 
reap  or  glean.  If  an  author  avoid  politics,  he  may  vkith 
safety  outrage  good  morals  or  good  taste;  but  with  us, 
he  may  do  this  in  politics. 

Thus,  sir,  have  I  performed  what  I  promised  of  China. 
These  recollections  are  but  shreds  and  patches,  con- 
nected without  order  or  art.     I  have  fallen,  too,  into 


&0»> 


,  than  his 

icters  are 
3noted  by 
a  dot  in 
icter  that 
cket,  and 

laracters. 
binedjde- 
together, 
}  express- 
I  a  broken 
is  a  true 
grieve  y  is 
'ate,  by  a 
ke  a  free- 
jnoted  by 

haracters, 
irk  for  a 
imes,  may 
razor  and 
ible  when 
outh — and 

you  may 
olumes. 
D  all  may 

may  viith 
t  with  US; 

of  China. 

3hes,  con- 

toO|  into 


I 


■lr««Mj«V'")Pl<lfW"^' '•"■*^-'>*'   ■  ■•••■L.wiwniiih vi«p«|.iiiii  in^iiMB||Miam*nMi 


THE  SCHOOLMASTER. 


[From  the  Lefendary.*] 


<  Pri§cian,  a  little  scratched.' 


On  a  memorable  day  in  August,  I  emerged  from  the 
red  schoolhouse  on  the  Germantown  road,  where,  for 
sixteen  years,  I  had  trained  the  rising  generations  of 
men  in  all  the  sciences — ^but  more  particularly  in  the 
knowledge  of  reading  and  writing. 

Of  my  little  scholars  I  took  a  mournful  and  affecting 
leave,  bestowing  on  them  a  parting  address,  better — that 
is,  longer — than  three  hours,  which  it  is  my  intentioii 
to  publish,  as  a  specimen  of  eloquence  in  modern  times. 
It  produced  a  great  sensation  among  the  benches,  and 
I  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  many  eyes  as  red  as  beets 
Mrith  weeping,  though  I  scorn  to  deny  that  I  perceived, 
simultaneously,  the  scent  of  an  onion. 

Packing  my  wardrobe  in  the  crown  of  my  hat,  and 
my  coin  in  a  small  tobacco-box,  I  walked  slowly  and 
sorrowfully  down  to  the  great  city,  which,  like  Babylon 
of  old,  is  of  brick,  and  which  was  founded  by  a  man 

*  This  article  is  reprinted  from  the  Legendary,  to  make  a  book  <tf 
the  proposed  size.  All  pieces  that  folbw,  have  appeared  in  the 
Courier,  or  were  originalj^  written  for  it. 


Mi 


THE   SCHOOLMASTER. 


291 


Dot  unlike  myself  in  liis  reverence  for  a  right  angle. 
The  city  is  a  magnificent  chess  board;  and  if  a  knight 
would  advance  thereon  a  mile,  it  is  needful  to  turn 
thrice  to  the  right  and  as  often  to  the  left. 

Let  me  not  omit  to  premise,  that  I  had,  at  German- 
town,  cherished  a  tender  sentiment  till  it  threw  a  purple 
light,  chequered  with  shade,  over  my  whole  existence. 
Therefore  I  resolved  to  journey  westward,  seeking — 
in  aliquo  abdito  et  Innginquo  rure — some  *  happy  valley,' 
where  I  could  cultivate  love  without  jealousy,  or,  in 
other  words,  |  ass  life  without  care.  These  at  least 
were  the  mciives  that  I  held  out  to  the  world;  that  is, 
to  half  a  do::en  friends  who  inquired  coldly,  whither  I 
would  go;  yet,  doubtless,  I  was  somewhat  incited  by 
that  restless  national  spirit,  that  leads  so  many  to  seek 
Fortune  beyond  the  mountains,  at  the  very  moment 
when  the  goddess — though  I  am  no  heathen — begins  to 
smile  on  them  at  home. 

Though  no  sectarian  in  philosophy.  I  travelled  as  a 
peripatetic.  My  only  comrade  was  one,  who,  though 
ranked  among  curs,  is  more  faithful  to  his  master  than 
some  other  dogs  of  higher  lineage,  and  that  wear  richer 
collars.  His,  however,  was  a  *  braw  brass  collar,'  bear- 
ing his  master's  name,  and  his  own,  which  was  Jowler, 
and  a  motto.  Cave  Canevn,  suggested  by  a  great  travel- 
ler who  had  read  it  on  a  Roman  threshold  at  Pompeii. 

In  my  hand  I  ported  a  crabstick  that  I  had  cut  in  the 
woods  of  Camden,  and  I  carried  in  my  pocket  a  ferule, 
that  had  descended  from  my  grandfather,  and  which, 
therefore,  I  have  tasted  as  well  as  administered.  This 
I  took  as  a  diploma,  to  be  a  passport  to  the  confidence 
and  tables  of  the  great — of  esquires,  judges,  and  gen- 
erals, titles,  that,  in  a  plain  republic,  where  none  seek 
or  refiise  an  ofiice,  often  pertain  to  one  fortunate  man. 


|: 


■  a 


ii 


392 


THE    SOHOOLMASTEIl. 


Indulge  me  with  a  last  word  concerning  the  ferule, 
or,  as  Maro  hath  it — for  I  like  a  new  quotation — 

'  Extreinum  hunc  mihi  concede  laborem.' 
Generally  I  prefer  it  to  the  birch.  In  Latin  I  hold  a 
divided  opinion;  but  in  '  rhetoric,'  and  its  kindred 
studies,  i  t  seems  fitting  and  emblematical,  to  deal  with 
the  '  open  palm.'  Moreover,  in  *  correcting'  an  offen- 
der it  is  proper  to  look  him  in  the  face.  If  I  see  there  a 
sullen  obstinacy,  I  am  too  much  his  friend  to  spare  him; 
but  if  I  mark  a  manful  resolution  to  bear  the  pain,  and 
a  shrinking  only  from  the  disgrace,  that  is  a  boy  af^er 
my  own  heart,  and  he  has  little  to  suffer  from  the 
sevei  ity  of  his  master. 

Thus  attended  and  equipped,  I  went  forth  rejoicing, 
for  I  had  much  to  delight,  and  nothing  to  afflict  me,  till 
I  came  to  the  Susquehanna,  where,  at  Harrisburgh, 
I  lamented  anew  over  the  grave  of  a  friend,  Simon 
Snyder,  who  had  been  governor  of  the  commonwealth. 
But  that  friendly  man  was  dead,  and  probably  decayed, 
though  there  is  authority  no  less  than  Shakspeare's — 
and  the  grave-digger  gives  the  reason — that  '  a  fanner 
will  last  you  some  nine  year.' 

The  Susquehanna  is  broad  but  not  deep,  and  you 
may,  if  you  would  perpetrate  injustice,  apply  the  same 
character  to  me.  It  has  a  sonorous  name,  and  is  a 
beautiful  stream,  bending,  with  a  noble  sweep,  around 
wild  or  cultivated  hills,  reflecting  their  pride,  and  carry- 
ing upon  its  waters  the  rich  products  of  their  soil. 

Not  far  from  York  I  ascended  the  South  Mountain, 
an  outpost  or  advanced  guard  of  the  Alleghanies,  and 
time  and  travelling  soon  brought  me  to  the  main  body. 

I  passed  an  hour  at  a  rude  village  to  which  Indian 
massacre  has  given  the  name  of  Bloody  Run,  and  here 
I  studied  diligently  the  features  of  a  countenance  entirely 
seraphic.     It  was  like  the  ifioat  celestial  of  Raffaelle's 


■t.a*'wjiM*s»*lii'i.^|i|ii(|^,j*«,.. 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER. 


299 


ferule, 


I  hold  a 
kindred 
sal  with 
in  offen- 
3  there  a 
are  him; 
ain,  and 
)oy  after 
irom  the 

ejoicing, 
t  me,  till 
risburgh, 
3,  Simon 
mwealth. 
decayed, 
»eare's — 
a  fanner 

and  you 
the  same 
and  is  a 
around 
id  carry- 
oil. 

[ountain, 
lies,  and 
n  body. 

Indian 
and  here 
3  entirely 
aff'aelle'a 


•■•-Vf>M  <*  *^>*M 


Madonnas,  or  the  purest  of  Carlo  Dolce's  Saints  I  had 
not  thought,  when  I  left  Germantown  behind,  to  find 
such  beings  among  the  mountains;  yet  this  admiration 
of  what  was  beautiful  and  pure,  had  no  connexion  with 
infidelity,  and  could  not  have  offended  the  lady  whose 
ring  the  schoolmaster  aspires  to  wear.  It  was  but  his 
perception  of  the  same  qualities  in  another  that  are  so 
attractive  in  her,  though  in  no  other  can  they  be,  to  him, 
BO  amiable.  I  left  the  dark  haired  cherub  with  regret, 
for  I  may  never  see  another,  or  her,  again. 
,  At  Bedford  I  entered  the  schoolhouse,  making  known 
to  the  master  my  name  and  calling,  and  as  much  of  my 
life  and  opinions  as  might  attract  his  regard,  when  the 
kind  soul  seated  me  at  his  desk,  pressing  me  to  examine 
his  school;  and  I  closed  the  examination  with  a  short 
address. 

He  walked  with  me  several  miles,  to  the  foot  of  the 
Alleghany  Ridge,  but  when  I  asked  him  to  ascend  it, 
that  good  and  grave  man  shook  his>head,  for  he  was  of 
few  words  when  signs  could  express  his  meaning.  I 
left  him  standing  like  a  statue  of  Silence,  while  I 
walked  briskly  on,  animated  with  renewed  benevolence 
to  the  whole  human  race;  for  the  kindness  of  that  worthy 
gentleman  seemed  to  be  transfused  into  my  own  soul. 

This  ridge  gives  its  name  to  the  mountains,  and,  to 
geographers,  the  bold  figure,  *  the  backbone  of  the 
United  States;'  but  Uncle  Sam  has  grown  so  much 
from  his  original  shape,  that  at  present  the  spine  is 
somewhere  in  the  side  of  that  strong  man.  Having 
reached  tho  summit  I  looked  down  upon  an  interminable 
valley  or  *  glade,'  where  cultivation  had  so  much  en- 
croached upon  the  wilderness,  that  the  rivers  reflected 
alternate  forest  and  farm.  Other  ridges,  blue  in  the 
distance,  lay  before  me,  and  the  Laurel  and  Chestnut 
gave  names  to  the  next. 
26* 


f 


m 


394 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER. 


On  the  bleak  side  of  the  Chestnut  Ridge,  I  entered 
a  log  cabin  that  had  been  the  abode  of  misfortune, 
where  an  old  soldier  retired  to  his  miseiable  dole,  and 
shared  it  with  the  needy  traveller;  though  seldonv  was 
the  most  needy  as  poor  as  General  St  Clair.  Fellow 
citizens!  it  is  neither  generous  nor  just,  when  a  man 
has  served  us  faithfully  and  long,  to  turn  him  out  to 
graze  on  the  hill  side  like  an  old  war  horse  that  can  no 
longer  charge;  or  to  let  him  starve  like  an  aged  hound, 
that  has  lost  its  teeth  for  an  ungrateful  master. 

The  Alleghanies  have  little  of  the  sublime,  but  much 
of  the  beautiful.  In  wildness  and  abruptness  they  can- 
not bo  compared  with  the  White  Mountains.  Yet, 
when  villages  with  red  schoolhouses  shall  be  sprinkled 
over  them,  he  must  go  far  who  would  find  a  more 
attractive  country.  To  me  these  mountains  were  charm- 
ing and  new,  and  I  loitered  among  them  with  a  school- 
boy lightness  of  heart,  careless  of  the  future  and  obliv- 
ious of  the  past.  Often  did  I  quit  the  road,  attracted 
by  the  sound  of  a  waterfall  or  the  coolness  of  a  fountain, 
of  which  thousands  are  gushing  from  the  rocks. 

I  could  never,  when  alone,  resist  a  ducklike  propen- 
sity to  play  in  running  water,  though  I  have  frowned 
upon  the  same  pastime  among  tlie  urchins  of  the  school, 
principally  from  a  care  of  their  health,  but  partly  from 
that  unamiable  principle  that  makes  us  so  intolerant  to 
our  own  faults  when  we  see  them  reflected  in  others. 
It  may  sink  me  as  a  moral  philosopher  in  your  esteem, 
as  much  as  it  would  raise  me  as  a  good  soul  among  my 
scholars,  to  confess  that  I  toiled  half  a  day  among  the 
mountains  to  make  a  dam  across  a  little  ^orrent,  and 
that,  when  I  had  completed  this  beaver-like  monument, 
I  led  it  with  the  regret  that  all  men  feel  when  dismount- 
ed from  their  hobby.  Your  own  I  believe  to  be  Pega- 
sus, but  seldom,  as  I  think,  have  you  reason  for  a  simi- 
lar regret. 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER. 


296 


entered 
ifortune, 
ole,  and 
lom  was 
Fellow 
i  a  man 
a  out  to 
it  can  no 
i  hound, 

tut  much 
hey  can- 
s.  Yet, 
sprinkled 
a  more 
e  charra- 
a  school- 
nd  obliv- 
attr  acted 
fountain, 

propen- 
frowned 
e  school, 
tly  from 
lerant  to 
1  others. 

esteem, 
nong  my 
[long  the 
ent,  and 
mument, 
ismount- 
)e  Pega- 
r  a  simi- 


As  I  was  sitting  on  a  log,  listening  to  the  sounds  of 
my  little  waterfall, 

<  mellow  murmur,  and  fairy  shout.' 
they  seemed  at  intervals  to  be  mingled  with  the  tolling 
of  a  distant  bell,  and  it  had  great  solemnity  of  effect,  to 
hear,  in  these  solitudes  of  ereation,  the  sound  that  man 
has  consecrated  to  the  worship  of  the  Creator. 

Yet  I  knew  that  I  was  distant  fifly  miles  from  even 
the  rudest  church,  and  this  sound,  to  state  the  truth, 
was  too  puzzling  for  satisfaction.  I  was  forced  to  give 
it  up  as  a  bad  cormndrum,  lamenting  that  the  senses, 
with  a  little  aid  from  fancy,  lead  us  to  error  as  well  as 
to  truth,  for,  deciding  by  the  car,  I  could  have  almost 
sworn  that  I  had  heard  a  '  church-going  bell.'  Yet  in 
turning  the  angle  of  a  rock  I  fell  upon  a  little  colony  of 
emigrants,  and  what  I  had  listened  to  was  but  the  bell 
that  tinkled  from  one  of  their  herd;  though,  while  it 
lasted,  my  delusion  was  complete.  So  it  is  in  other,  and 
in  all  things;  therefore  let  us  have  more  charity  for  the 
opinions  of  others,  and  less  confidence  in  the  infallibility 
of  our  own. 

These  people  were  hospitable  as  Bedouins,  and 
pressed  a  hungry  traveller,  who  never  stood  upon  cere- 
mony, to  a  supper  of  venison  coUops  that  would  have 
satisfied  Daniel  Boon. 

As  I  swam  with  the  currd/,  I  saw  less  of  the  stream 
of  emigration  than  I  should  have  seen  if  going  eastward; 
yet  I  found  emigrants  of  almost  every  European  nation, 
though,  mostly,  they  were  from  the  British  Islands. 
Among  these  were  many  Irish,  though  there  were  not 
wanting  the  '  men  of  Kent '  or  of  '  pleasant  Tivi'dale.' 
Some  of  them  had  flocks  and  herds,  and  others  were  no 
richer  than  a  pedagogue,  and  this  is  saying  little  for 
their  wealth.  But  it  is  a  most  unfortunate  road  for 
charity.  The  fountains  of  benevolence  are  frozen, 
where  every  man  is  a  publican. 


396 


ftie    SCHOOLMASTER. 


I  once  met  at  a  Dutch  tavern,  a  humble  old  man, 
who  seemed  to  owe  little  gratitude  to  fortune.  The 
German  boor  repulsed  his  timid  efforts  at  conversation, 
for  a  Dutchman,  though  not  always  civil  to  a  traveller 
who  has  money,  is  invariably  rude  to  him  who  has  it  not. 
The  poor  man  next  solicited  the  acquaintance  of  my  dog, 
who  very  frankly  wagged  his  tail  in  reply,  for  he  is  as 
good  natured,  almost,  as  his  master.  As  the  veteran 
seemed  to  have  survived  the  last  of  his  friends,  and  was 
as  venerable  in  front  aS'  Cincinnatus  himself,  1  invited 
him  to  share  my  supper — it  was  not  of  turnips — and 
had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  him  assail  it  a»  if  he  had 
seldom  fared  so  well.  '  / 

There  is,  in  the  morning,  a  singular  appearance  about 
the  mountains.  The  body  of  mist,  rising  from  the  glades, 
settles  at  a  certain  altitude,  and,  from  above,  it  looks 
like  an  ocean  with  islands;  for  the  green  summits  of  the 
lessor  hills  rise  above  the  vapor,  and  present  to  the  eye 
and  the  imagination  an  insular  paradise;  yet,  whrm  the 
mist  had  arisen,  like  a  veil  from  a  pretty  face,  it  was 
not  always  to  increase  my  admiration,  for  the'^fancy  dis- 
covered beauties  in  the  obscurity,  that  the  eye  could 
not  find  in  the  light  of  the  sun. 

On  the  summits  of  the  mountains  I  beheld  frequent 
vestiges  of  the  tempest  in  trees  riven  by  lightning  or 
prostrated  by  the  tornado;  and  they  suggested,  to  an- 
humble  pedestrian,  the  consoling  reflection,  that  the 
highest  are  not  the  safest  places.  It  was  my  fortune  to 
behold  a  war  of  the  elements  as  awful  as  that  which 
assailed  the  demented  monarch;  but,  like  Lear,  I  was 
near  to  a  hovel,  one  of  the  hospices  erected  for  the 
poor  or  benighted  traveller,  and  there  I  rested  through 
the  night,  sheltered  from  the  fury,  but  elevated  and 
appalled  by  the  uproar  of  the  tempest. 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER. 


297 


The  next  day  the  wind  was  still  a  hurricane,  and  as  I 
descended  to  the  thick  forests  of  the  valley,  it  was  a 
singular  sight  to  behold  the  tops  of  the  trees  wrenching 
in  the  gale,  while  not  a  leaf  was  stirred  below. 

Deep  woods  and  solitudes  have  always  inclined  my 
spirit  to  devotion.  The  '■  solemn  temples  '  that  the  piety 
of  man  has  raised  to  the  worship  of  his  Maker,  are  less 
impressive  than  a  primeval  forest;  and  among  churches, 
those  that  have  the  gpeatest  devotional  influence  on  the 
mind  are  Gothic  cathedrals,  that  owe  half  their  charac- 
ter to  their  resemblance  to  a  grove. 

To  sustain  it  in  devotional  duties,  human  weakness 
requires  the  aid  of  local  situation  and  solemn  ceremo> 
nials.  The  piety  of  even  the  devout  Johnson  was 
'  warmer  in  the  ruins  of  lona,'  and  the  Liturgy  of  the 
English  Church  no  less  elevates  the  confidence  of  the 
righteous,  and  inspires  hope  in  others  who  pray  to  be 
delivered  from  evil. 


Having  crossed  the  mountains,  I  descended  the  Ohio, 
t^Iio  most  beautiful  of  rivers.  The  Alleghany  is  limpid 
rnd  swifl,  the  Monongahela  more  turbid  and  slow.  One 
may  remind  you  of  a  Frenchman,  the  other,  of  a  Span- 
iard; in  their  union,  they  may  bring  to  your  recollection 
a  grave  and  placid  gentleman,  who  desires  to  take  for 
the  better,  a  more  joyous  companion. 

In  this  rich  and  wonderful  valley  of  the  West,  gran- 
deur is  stamped  upon  the  works  of  creation.  What  are 
the  meagre  and  boasted  Tybur  and  Arno,  the  Illyssus 
and  Eurotas,  to  a  stream  navigable  °o  three  thousand 
miles,  and  rolling,  long  before  it  meets  the  ocean,  through 
a  channel  of  sixty  fathom!  What,  but  grottoes,  are  the 
vaunted  caves  or  catacombs  of  Europe,  to  the  mighty 


^^ 


S98 


Tins    SCHOOLMASTER. 


eaverns  of  the  West — that  extend  beneath  wider  dis- 
tricts than  German  principalities,  and  under  rivers  larger 
than  the  Thames.  Ye  sun-burnt  travellers!  whose 
caravans  have  rested  under  the  shade  of  the  banyan, 
while  ye  marvelled  at  the  circuit  of  its  limbs — come  to 
the  Ohio  and  see  a  tree  that  will  shelter  a  troop  of  horse 
in  the  cavity  of  its  trunk. 

A  stroll  even  now  Upon  the  *  Beautiful  River,*  will 
explain  the  enthusiasm  that  led  tHte  first  bold  hunters  of 
the  *  Long  Knife,*  to  the  forests  of  the  *  Bloody  Ground.' 
Danger  was  but  a  cheap  price,  at  which  they  enjoyed 
the  rich,  wild  profusion  of  the  West,  when  it  first  open- 
ed to  the  admiration  of  civilized  men. 

It  was  my  good  fortune  to  see  one  of  those  aged  sons 
•f  the  forest,  who,  ia  his  youth,  had  loved  danger  and 
venison  better  than  Robin  Hood;  for  Kentucky  had 
other  rangers  than  guarded  deer  in  Sherwood  Forest. 
The  lands  that  he  had  taken  in  the  wilderness  now  hold 
a  populous  city,  and  have  r<iade  the  fortunes  of  his 
countless  progeny.  He  hLd  paid  the  purchase  by  in- 
stalments, and  when  the  dreaded  day  of  payment  ap- 
proached, he  would  stroll  with  his  rifle  a  few  hundred 
miles  to  shoot  an  Indian  for  the  bounty  on  his  scalp. 

I  descended  the  river  as  I  had  hoped  to  pass  through 
life — suffering  no  damage  from  the  rapids,  and  lost  in 
admiration  of  the  beauty  of  the  banks.  At  Vevay,  in 
the  coiinty  of  Switzerland,  I  moored  my  bark,  and  have 
cast  anchor  for  life  among  a  kind  and  simple  race  that 
sing  the  Ram  dea  vache^  in  an  adopted  country,  hallow- 
ed by  names  that  remind  them  of  their  Alps. 


THE  LAST  OF  THE  BLACKLEGS. 


QUcite  justitiam  moniti,  et  non  temner«  IMtos. 


HAvmOy  in  my  present  retirement,  some  leisure  for 
writing,  and  much  for  reflection,  I  devote  it  to  a  sketch 
of  my  life;  in  reading  which,  something  may  be  learned 
of  my  opinions.  The  motto  prefixed  is,  probably,  Latin, 
and  it  was  kindly  furnished  by  the  chaplain.  My  pre- 
sent seclusion  is  not  the  voluntary  solitude  of  an  anchor- 
ite, for  I  am  in  a  municipal  citadel,  that  is  under  the  im- 
mediate protection  of  the  State. 

FroAi  the  governor  of  this  castle  (he  is  called  also  the 
keeper  J  though  the  word  smacks  of  Exeter  ''Change,)  I 
abstracted  a  book,  that  I  have  diligently  read;  and  lean 
say  as  much  of  no  other  but  the  *  Games '  of  Mr  Hoyle. 
The  governor's,  was  a  book,  of  Roman  history,  and  it  is 
in  reference  to  a  passage  therein,  that  I  have  titled  my- 
self—<  Last  of  th.e  Blacklegs.* 

I  find  that  one  Cremutius  Cordus  destroyed  himself, 
in  distrust  of  the  clemency  of  a  mild  Emperor,  named 
Tiberius,  who  was  disMnguished  by  many  other  prince- 
ly qualities.  The  guilt,  that  weighed  so  heavily  upon 
the  culprit,  was,  that  he  had,  in  his  history,  caJIed  an 


m 


I      1 


mmmmmmmmmmm 


ioo 


^•M"    1'^f^'*  '  ^^^^y^^KfHff^'  ^■'^^^'W^^^p**^^^^^* 


f  1.  m^^ 


itaMtoeI«i»iii9i||i#l|^^  wiltb  ill  fn^ia- 

ilT  UaMM 


ie,b0«ftiiie 
li«  met 


I,  Mid  lilt  edttld 
ilie  evolution 


%Ml^     ..^'U,''     '5» 


THK    LAST   or   THE    BLACKLEGS. 


noi 


Ike 


ir«iiui 
Umm* 

link  tkat 

OVBU    ^ 

''mbI  eir 
,  lie  m«t 


In  features,  I  resembled  mj  sire,  whose  face  wab  -  n- 
sidered  hard,  and  I  rather  improved  this  character  of 
countenance  by  the  cultivation  of  a  formidable  whisker. 
I  have  felt  flattered  when  the  ladies  called  me  '  the  man 
in  the  iron  mask.' 

In  youth  my  education  was  neglected,  and  this  I  have 
had  reason  in  after  life  to  lament;  for  an  early  acquaint- 
ance with  books  would  have  advanced  my  schemes  upon 
society,  by  giving  that  knowledge  of  evidence  and  a/t6t, 
which  I  have  more  expensively  acquired,  at  intervals , 
from  the  County  Attorney, 

In  arithmetic,  I  could  never  get  fairly  beyond  Subtrac- 
tion; though  I  have  had  many  battles  with  my  comrades 
in  support  of  my  own  rule  of  Division;  yet  I  am  not  so 
ignorant  of  numbers,  as  it  was  once  my  ill  fortune  to  pre- 
tend. This  was  at  Auburn,  where  there  is  a  large  col- 
lege, in  which  all  are  professors;  the  president  (blast 
his  eyes!  for  he  brought  the  waters  into  mine,)  directed 
me  to  measure  a  slab  of  granite,  and  also  to  saw  it  off, 
at  the  length  of  thirtyone  inches;  but  as  I  disliked  the 
problem,  I  severed  the  block  a  few  inches  short,  saying 
in  excuse,  that  I  had  never  been  good  at  figures. 

'  Give  him  thirtyone  stripes,'  said  the  president,  '  and 
let  him  keep  his  own  account.'  This  proposition  was  a 
poser;  but  it  gave  a  new  impulse  to  my  mathematical 
talent;  for  when  the  lash  was  raised  the  thirtysecond 
time,  I  told  my  instructer  that  I  had  already  counted 
thirtyone. 

It  was  at  an  early  age  that  I  enrolled  myself  in  one 
of  the  two  classes  into  which  philosophers  divide  man- 
kind. My  early  tastes  received  much  encouragement 
from  the  theatres,  from  which  I  was  never  absent  when 
the  play  was  the  Beggar's  Opera,  or  the  Forty  Thieves. 
The  fame  of  Tom  and  Jerry  has  reached  me,  even  here; 
for  in  our  fraternity  it  is' a  favorite  play;  but  as  it  did 

^  26 


'S-^ 


I..V 


'"■^^^SWSWHIHail 


mmmm 


302 


THE    LAST    OF    THE    BLACKLEGS. 


V 


not  come  out  till  I  myself  got  in,  I  can  only  describe  it 
as  it  has  been  described  to  me ;  that  is,  a  faithful  mirror 
to  hold  up  to  a  gentleman  Blackleg. 

I  had,  from  youth  upwards,  a  taste  that  is  said  to  mark 
a  gentleman;  I  had  a  passion  for  wearing  white  and  fine 
linen;  and  this  it  was  that  drew  me  so  oflen,  at  evening, 
to  the  laundress's  lines.  I  had  also  a  singular  reverence 
for  the  beaver,  and  collected  a  great  many  memorials 
(both  in  skin  and  fur)  of  that  amphibious  animal;  for 
when  I  '  did  the  genteel  thing  '  and  frequented  polite  as- 
semblies, I  would  go  out  in  a  hat  of  felt,  upon  which,  on 
my  return,  I  was  sure  to  find  a  nap  from  the  castor,  and 
in  the  crown  a  pair  of  his  gloves.  This,  I  suppose,  if 
the  reason  why  the  doctor  once  said  (when  I  shammed 
sickness  and  chalked  my  tongue)  that  I  had  been  too 
long  engaged  in  the  fur  trade. 

I  now  became  very  diligent  iw  my  vocation.  I  have 
read  in  my  book,  of  an  Emperor  who  piqued  himself  on 
being  the  benefactor,  as  he  was  called  the  '  Delight  of 
Mankind.'  This  weak  prince,  when  the  sun  had  set  and 
he  performed  no  worthy  action,  would  exclaim,  ^  I  have 
lost  a  day;'  and  I  have  made  the  same  remark  when  the 
day  has  closed,  and  as  little  had  been  performed  in  my 
own  line. 

But  these  adventures  were  in  what  the  history  calls 
the  '  golden  age,'  for  now  I  have  fallen  upon  iron  times. 
In  that  age  of  gold,  I  was  animated  by  the  heroic  pas- 
sion, and  tied  my  cravat  at  the  sister  of  a  school-fellow; 
but  when  I  called  upon  her,  she  directed  a  servant,  (and 
a  trucrlent  fellow  he  was,)  to  allow  me  the  choice  be- 
tween his  cudgel  and  the  window;  and  as  he  stood  di-> 
rectlyl  before  the  door,  to  oblige  the  lady  I  raised  the 
sash.  This  was,  (as  they  say  at  the  theatre,)  but  mak- 
ing an  exit,  as  I  had  often  elsewhere  made  an  entrance. 


THE    LAST   OF   THE    BLACKLEGS. 


303 


cribe  it 
1  mirror 

to  mark 
and  fine 
vening, 
verence 
jmoriala 
lal;    for 
(olite  as- 
hich,  on 
3tor,  and 
ppose,  ii 
hammed 
3een  too 

I  have 
mself  on 
>elight  of 
d  set  and 
'  I  have 
when  the 
ed  in  my 

:ory  calls 
on  times, 
roic  pas- 
)l-fellow; 
ant,  (and 
loice  be- 
stuod  di-* 
lised  the 
but  mak- 
entrancc. 


The  rations  in  our  corps  are  not  devised  to  encourage 
the  enlistment  of  recruits,  though  the  ranks  are  well 
filled  by  conscriptions.  I  almost  blush  to  state,  that  I 
am  sometimes  fain  to  suspend  my  cap  by  a  packthread, 
and  draw  up  through  the  wires  of  my  cage  the  few  cop- 
pers that  charity  throws  to  the  unfortunate.  This  gives 
me  a  manifest  resemblance  to  Belisarius;  but  at  other 
times,  if  Allston  should  behold  me,  with  my  iron  visage, 
sitting  upon  a  granite  pillar,  and  shaping  it  with  ham- 
mer and  drill,  what  a  picture  the  world  would  have  of 
Marius,  amid  the  ruins  of  Carthage ! 

Reader!  ilius  have  I  sketched  my  life,  and  with  but  a 
seeming  levity,  for  the  reality  I  could  not  feel;  and  the 
levity  has  been  feigned  but  to  keep  awake  your  atten- 
tion, which  I  fear,  is  apt  to  slumber  over  what  it  seri- 
ously said.  But  it  is  time  that  I  should  drop  the  mask 
which  I  have  assumed  only  for  your  advantage.  If  I 
have  giown  gray  without  becoming  good,  one  good  ac- 
tion I  will  do,  in  giving  my  example  as  a  warning  to 
sons,  and  my  advice  as  a  legacy  to  fathers. 

If  you  have  an  undutiful  son,  bring  him  to  my  cell, 
and  I  will  say  to  him ;  '  behold  an  aged  sinner,  v.ho  has 
human  blood  in  his  veins,  and  who  once  had  human  ten- 
derness in  his  hsart;  confined,  and  justly,  like  a  beast 
that  ravages  and  kills.  Mark  his  hair,  shagged  as  a 
hyena's,  and  shudder  at  his  wolfish  eyes.  I  was  in  my 
youth,  l/ke  you,  but  tin..  >  was  no  example  such  as  is  now 
before  you,  to  wain  me  to  fly  from  evil;  nor  was  there 
any  kind  hand  to  restrain  me  in  its  downward  course. 
Now  look  upon  those  convicts  in  the  yard,  and  see  the 
savage  sneers,  with  which  malice  and  hatred  have  dis- 
torted, like  a  demon's,  the  human  face!  If  what  you 
now  behold,  cannot  divert  you  from  evil,  as  hopeless  is 
your  case,  as  that  of  the  wretch,  who  has  lived  for  sixty 
years,  with  no  other  advantage  to  bis  race,  than  that  of 
appalling  example.' 


9. 


H' 


jmi  mwumigifsmiimiKmm 


SELECTIONS 


THE  HANG-BIRD. 


The  red-bird  that  builds  on  the  end  of  the  bough 
A  nest  like  a  cottager's,  oovered  with  straw, 

Has  a  note  that  I  loved,  when  I  followed  the  plough^ 
And  the  prettiest  plumage  that  ever  you  saw. 

The  hurons,  a  cradle  in  sycamores  make, 
That  rocks,  when  the  winds  the  tall  pinnacles  bend  ; 

And  safe  from  the  school-boy,  the  cat,  and  the  snake, 
The  hang-bird,  her  brood  from  a  twig  will  suspend. 

Then  spare  the  red  hang-bird  that  builds  such  a  nest 
As  the  birds  of  the  tropic  might  envy  to  see ; — 

O  soil  not  with  blood  the  bright  hues  of  his  breast, 
But  look  foi  a  victim  in  yonder  pine  tret 

Trere  's  a  solemn, '  gray  bird,'  among  ruins  that  flies,, 
In  countries  where  ruins  abound  more  than  here ; — 

Come,  rest  on  my  shoulder,  take  aim  at  his  eyes, 
And  one  enemy  less  will  the  mice  have,  my  Dear. 


WOLFE  AND  MONTCALM, 
FortuncUi  ambo. 


Thet  raise  but  a  single  column  fair. 
To  the  cl.iefs  who  fell  contending ; 

For  death  united  their  ashes  there, 
And  glory  their  names  is  blending. 


% 


'■*^*%.--'-'*^l.^ 


305 

The  lofty  Montcalm,  if  his  spirit  glide 
Round  the  field  he  has  raised  in  story, 

Will  see,  with  joy,  and  a  warrior's  pride, 
That  his  foes  have  recorded  his  glory. 

But  the  brave  are  brothers,  and  when  they  fall, 
The  tears  of  the  brave  drop  o'er  them ; 

For  rivalry  dies  on  the  sable  pall. 
And  foemcn,  as  friends,  deplore  Ihem. 

•T  is  a  hero's  prayer  to  prevail  or  die, 
And  Fortune  to  Wolfe's  relented ; 

For  he  lingered  to  hear  *  (hey  fly,  they  fly,' 
Before  he  co'ild  '  die  contented.' 

Though  few  remain,  who  as  greatly  dare. 
His  glory  shall  swell  their  numbers ; 

This,  long  will  the  sons  of  Britain  swear. 
On  the  spot  where  her  hero  slumbers. 


PLEASURES. 


ll 


There  are  bubbles  that  vanish,  \vhen  grasped  in  the  hand, — 
There  are  rose-buds  that  wither,  bCTore  they  expand, — 
There  are  hopes  that  are  blighted,  when  brighest  they  seem, 
And  pleasures  that  fade  like  the  joys  of  a  dream. 

A  mirage,  when  our  prospects  were  desolate  grown, 
Its  charm  o'er  the  sands  of  life's  desert  has  thrown; 
And  we  hoped  when  the  rest  of  the  desert  was  past, 
To  quench  this  mad  thirst  after  pleasure  at  last. 

But  from  him  who  pursues  it,  the  faster  it  flies, 
As  the  waters  seem  neaf,  while  the  traveller  dies ; — 
And  spice  groves  before  it,  their  limbs  seem  to  wave 
While  the  caravan  finds  in  Zahara,  a  grave. 
26  • 


w^mmm^fmammm^ 


mmi 


306 

If  life  in  its  threshold,  so  desolate  seem, 
If  its  pleasures  are  only  the  joys  of  a  dream, 
If  its  noon-day  with  doubt  and  dismay  is  perplext, 
O  who  would  not  long  for  the  dawn  of  the  next 


GENERAL  F.^ASER. 


In  the  pride  of  his  daring,  Eraser  fell. 
And  while  slowly  away  we  bore  him ; 

The  warriors  rude,  whom  he  loved  so  well 
Shed  bitter  and  stern  tears  o'er  him. 

'  I  die ' — he  cried  to  his  heart  struck  chief — 
'  Life  flows  away  like  a  fountain, 

*  Let  my  funeral  rites  be  few  and  brief, 
And  my  tomb,  the  peak  of  the  mountain.* 

There  was  not  a  heart,  but  heaved  with  wo 

As  the  hero's  hearse  ascended. 
Though  the  vengeful  shot  of  the  watchful  foe 

With  our  farewell  volley  blended. 

But  the  pilgrim  of  honor  seeks  his  grave. 
Where  the  bright  clouds  rest  in  glory ; 

His  memory  lives  in  the  hearts  of  the  brave, 
And  his  fame,  in  his  country's  story. 


y 


THE  DOG  STAR. 

Briqht  star  of  my  fortunes,  that  shone  on  my  birth, 
,  And  nerves  that  would  vibrate,  and  blood  that  would  bum ; 
Thy  ray  never  falls  on  the  cold  of  the  earth, 
Whose  hearts  are  as  dull  as  the  sleep  of  the  urn. 


SOI 


But  souls  that  have  feeling,  and  fancy,  and  fire, 
Hearts  that  can  glow,  through  obstructions  of  clay, 

And  hands  that  can  waken  the  lute  and  the  lyre. 
Derive  the  rich  gii^s  from  thy  tempering  ray. 

Thou  sett'st  on  the  forehead  of  Beauty,  thy  seal, 
And  the  soft  light  of  passion  thou  shedd'st  in  her  eyes; 

With  blood  in  her  pulses,  that  will  not  congeal. 
Like  that  of  the  daughters  of  temperate  skies. 

Bright  star  of  my  fortunes,  impress  on  my  soul 

An  ardour  for  virtue,  a  passion  for  fame ; 
Light  my  wandering  steps  to  that  fa:  distant  goal, 

And  set  in  the  heavens,  like  Castor's,  my  name. 


d  burn ; 


SORROWS  OF  A  ROAN  HORSE. 

When  I  was  a  colt,  in  a  Green-mountain  glade, 
My  mane  it  was  k>ng,  and  in  thunder  arrayed : 
My  delight  was  to  frolic,  to  bite,  and  to  play, 
And  to  care,  when  it  came,  my  reply  was  a  nay. 

When  I  nibbled  the  clover,  in  pastures  of  green, 
A  mole  that  was  sleeker  you  never  have  seen : 
I  was  good  at  a  gallop,  and  great  at  a  rack. 
But  tremendous,  with  Major  Mc'  Wrath  on  my  back. 

Poor  Major,  he  furnished  me  many  an  oat. 
And  covered  me  often  when  cold,  with  his  coat ; 
He  was  honest  and  kind,  and  I  found  him  a  friend,     . 
Till  brought  by  podagra  and  wine  to  his  end. 

I  was  sold  like  a  negro,  at  six  years  of  age. 
To  a  master  who  drove  like  Jehu  in  a  rage ; — 
In  his  harness  I  trotted  fourteen  to  the  hour, 
And  he  sold  me  again,  when  I  wanted  the  power. 


308 

But  time  was  at  work  on  my  mane  and  my  tail, 
And  through  many  gradations  in  misery's  scale 
I  descended,  at  last,  to  that  lowest  of  ill. 
For  a  horse  or  a  rogue,  and  went  round  in  a  mill. 

On  the  Sabbath,  a  rest  both  to  beast  and  to  man, 
I  shamble  away  from  the  wheel  and  the  tan, 
To  a  lane  where  the  thistles  are  bitter  and  tall. 
Though  the  clover  is  blossoming  over  the  wall. 

But  my  race  of  existence  is  rapid  and  brief. 
My  sorrows  will  end  at  the  fall  of  the  leaf; 
For  my  master  I  heard,  when  the  farrier  was  by. 
Say,  in  accents  of  wo,  *  poor  old  horse — let  him  die.'- 


FOURTH  OF  JULY. 

Let  the  voice  of  thanksgiving  have  utterance  now, 
Sing  the  praise  of  the  good,  in  the  land  of  the  free ; 

Let  the  breeze  that  is  waving  the  blossom  and  bough, 
Waft  the  song  of  our  gladness  o'er  mountain  and  sea ; 

Far  south,  where  the  orange  is  bending  with  fruit, 
And  the  laurel  shoots  up  to  a  pinnacle  fair. 

The  voice  of  rejoicing  no  longer  is  mute. 
For  the  patriot  is  breathing  his  orisons  there. 

Far  west,  where  he  lingers  ere  sets  the  bright  sun. 
There  is  feasting,  and  music,  and  pageant,  to  day  ; 

For  the  fame  of  the  heroes,  whose  labors  are  done, 
And  whose  name  from  the  scroll  can  no  time  wash  away. 

One  only  remains,  like  a  pillar  at  Rome, 
The  column  of  Trajan,  to  star  d  on  the  mind 

How  great  is  the  race  that  has  past  to  the  tomb,       ^^ 
And  how  sacred  the  fame,  they  have  left  to  mankind. 


309 


THE  DEFORMED  TRANSFORMED. 

A    DREAM. 

Methouoht  that  I  sat  by  the  side  of  the  way, 

When  an  old  man  approached  me,  whose  tresses  were  gray, 

And  asked  me  the  cause  why  I  looked  so  dejected, 

If  my  love  were  despised,  or  my  merit  neglected. 

To  merit  said  I,  my  pretence  is  but  small, 
And  of  love,  honored  sir,  I  know  nothing  at  all ; 
But  if  the  sofl  passion  my  heart  should  assail, 
'T  is  not  merit  I  fear,  in  the  suit  would  prevail. 

My  son,  said  the  sage,  thy  remark  is  but  just ; 
Then  take  you  a  box  of  this  magical  dust, 
Which  he  that  is  lucky  enough  to  obtain, 
Has  a  balm  for  all  woes  and  a  cure  for  all  pain. 

Though  you  limp,  I  confess,  like  an  ass  in  a  fetter,       ^ 
This  will  alter  your  gait,  Mr  Tag,  for  the  better ; 
Though  you  squint  like  a  Satyr  direct  from  the  wood, 
'T  is  no  more,  'twill  be  said,  'than  a  man  of  sense  should.' 

A  similar  change  will  be  made  in  your  wit, 
For  which  there  is  chance  enough,  too,  I  admit ; 
Till  Friendship  shall  praise  what  it  slighted  before, 
And  Beauty  shall  scorn,  while  she  charms  thee  no  more. 

Thus  the  limp  of  thy  leg  and  the  squint  of  thy  eyes 

Amended,  and  thou  become  witty  and  wise ; 

Be  loud  and  vehement,  pugnacious  and  bold, 

Which  the  weakest  may  be  with  this  dust,  which  is  gold. 


I 


\}.f 


! 


^-■'Ttt--*^^ 


,•*»•♦, 


•  ■>*i*«t'i^,«i««iiS*-> 


mm 


310 


HARVEST  HOME. 

Brave  sons  of  New  England,  high  lords  of  the  soil, 
With  hands  ever  ready  to  give  and  to  toil ; 
The  harvest  is  bending  o'er  valley  and  plain, 
Come,  come,  to  its  festival  labor  again. 

We  boast  not  the  olive,  we  want  not  the  vine  ; 
For  the  orange  and  citron  we  do  not  repine ; 
We  look  at  no  climate  with  envious  eyes, 
For  what  nature  refuses  our  labor  supplies. 

Our  country  we  serve  when  we  follow  the  plough,    • 
And  'tis  seldom  a  traitor  is  wiping  his  brow; 
But  the  labor  we  love,  is  the  pledge  of  our  faith 
To  the  land  that  we  live  in,  through  danger  and  death. 

Then  long  be  that  land  the  abode  of  the  free, 
Afar  may  its  foJl  in  futurity  be  ; — 
Long,  long,  may  its  harvests  so  bountiful  wave. 
And  long  may  they  gladden  the  hearts  of  the  brave. 


WHAT  A  PIECE  OF  WORK  IS  MAN. 

Our  hopes  are  a  cheat,  and  our  joys  are  a  dream ; — 
We  are  dew  on  the  flowers,  we  are  flies  on  the  stream ; 
And  downward  we  float,  without  caution  or  fear, 
For  the  water  is  smooth,  but  the  cataract  near. 

And  sooner  with  evil,  than  good,  we  comply. 
For  we  love  but  a  season  and  hate  till  we  die ; 
We  forgive  in  our  foes,  any  injury  past. 
But  those  that  we  injure,  wo  pardon  the  last. 

What  is  friendship  ?  a  wish  to  make  use  of  our  friends  ;- 
Ambition  ?  bad  means  to  accomplish  worse  ends ; 
What  is  love .'  he  will  find  in  his  bosom  who  delves, 
'T  is  that  ardent  afiection  wc  feel  for  ourselves. 


oil, 


311 

Our  love  is  all  selfish,  our  honor  all  nride. 
And  many  a  wretch  like  a  hero  has  died  ; 
Our  wit  is  but  malice,  and  who  tries  to  smother 
The  laugh  it  excites  at  the  cost  of  another. 

Our  reason  what  is 't?  I  am  blushing  for  mine, 
It  has  led  me  so  ofl  in  a  devious  line  ; 
For  when  reason  and  passion  blow  contrary  ways. 
Which,  pray,  is  the  impulse  the  vessel  obeys  ? 


death . 


ave. 


3am; 


LAMENT. 

Lament,  my  sad  friend,  for  the  days  that  are  over, 
And  dread  in  the  future,  more  ills  than  the  past; 

For,  as  I  was  once  told  by  a  Doctor  in  Dover, 
The  toughest  of  grinders,  to  ache,  are  hte  last. 

O  had  we  but  lived  in  the  fabulous  ages. 
When  men  were  all  honest,  contented,  and  true ; 

When  youth  was  instructed  in  virtue  by  sages. 
And  criminal  judges  had  nothing  to  do. 

Or  in  those  later  times  that  we  find  in  romances. 
When  honor  pertained  to  the  brave  and  the  strong ; 

When  lords,  for  the  right,  perilled  breaking  of  lances, 
Which  ladies  would  smile  on,  though  broke  for  the  wrong. 

O  for  that  era  of  beauty  and  banners. 

When  minstrels  like  us,  could  win  riches  and  fame ; 
When  if  morals  Avere  easy,  the  better  the  manners. 

Than  in  folks,  that  it  might  be  a  libel  to  name. 


nds ; — 


>^' 


•mm 


mm 


mmm 


312 


THE  CALUMNIATOR. 

Behold  a  tall  tree  that  is  blasted,  my  son, 
Yet  not  by  the  lightning,  though  heavy  the  stroke ; 

More  surely  the  work  of  destruction  was  done, — 
And  niark  thou  the  foe,  that  can  prostrate  an  oak. 

Vile  worm !  could  a  reptile  as  feeble  as  thou. 
Destroy  in  its  strength,  a  magnificent  tree  ? 

Did  the  hurricane  pass,  when  it  shattered  the  bough, 
But  to  leave  the  strong  trunk,  as  a  victim  to  thee  f 

There  are  some  of  our  lineage  aa  slowly  that  die, 
And  by  reptiles  more  loathsome  than  any  that  crawl  j 

While  the  foe  that  destroys  them,  no  one  can  descry, 
For  the  arrow  is  hidden,  till  after  their  fall. 

Thus  a  calumny  strikes  to  the  sensitive  heart, 
Which,  the  less  it  discloses,  the  more  it  endures : 

While  the  hand  that  directed  and  poisoned  the  dart, 
May  be  that  of  a/nend ;  but  should  never  be  yours. 


\A 


GRAND  MENAGERIE.— FATHER  AND  SON. 

Oh,  what  is  that  beautiful  animal,  Dad, 
So  tame  and  so  gentle  ? — A  Tiger,  my  lad 
And  this,  with  an  innocent  aspect,  and  mild  ? 
How  honest  he  seems. — That  is  Reynard,  my  child. 

What  a  fierce  looking  beast,  with  those  terrible  ears, 
And  a  roar  so  appalling,  how  bold  he  appears ! 
Though  lied,  I  am  fearful  so  near  him  to  pass. — 
The  beast  that  you  dread,  little  son,  is  an  ^s. 


/ 


m^ 


;he  stroke ; 
lone, — 
te  an  oak. 

ee  ? 

the  bough, 

1  to  thee  f 

lat  die, 

f  that  crawl ; 

an  descrj, 

irt, 

endures : 
the  dart, 
or  be  yours. 


\ND  SON. 


1 

lild? 

,  my  child. 

terrible  ears, 


tears ! 
pass.- 
1  >^a. 


/ 


